Outbound Hopes
by CrazyMihn
Summary: 500 years ago, I died. Today, I fight as a Hunter, fighting the alien enemies that would threaten the last of humanity. My name is Ace, and this is my story. A destiny Fanfic made as a retelling of the first game main story, with planned chapters for the DLC and special events in-game. Follows the theme that the guardian involved is Cayde-6's son Ace. Story on Hiatus. Sorry.
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

_500 years ago, a Entity known only as the Traveller changed everything. For two, long centuries, we lived through a Golden Age of technological development which granted us longer lifespans and greater comforts. Colony ships left Earth every day, bound for the outer worlds. However, that Golden Age was cut short, when a mysterious entity known as the Darkness (a long-time enemy of the Traveller, and rumoured to be more than just a single entity) crippled Humanity, and defeated the traveller. On that day 500 years ago, I died in combat, fighting forces beyond my then-limited comprehension. Then, I met my ghost…_

"Guardian. Guardian! Eyes up Guardian!"

I blinked my eyes wearily at the strange machine hovering in front of my face. It was no bigger than a fist, and composed of a circular eye with strange rotating polygonal blocks forming a three-dimensional star shape. It spun it's 'blocks' around and waited for me to clamber to my feet. I felt surprisingly energetic, and I somehow felt something was wrong.

"Thank goodness I found you! I'm a Ghost. Or rather, I'm _your_ Ghost. You've been dead for a long time, but I've revived you. Now we need to get moving…"

"What do you mean I died? I feel fine!"

The ghost looked quizzically at me, and I somehow _felt_ that it was about to respond. Then, a roar came from nearby. It sounded like no creature I remembered, but whatever it was made me unconsciously grab for the auto rifle I had holstered at me…My rifle! It was gone!

"Hang on," said Ghost, before disappearing. I waved my hand through the air where it was, the area around suddenly feeling very small.

"I'm still here," came the voice of my new friend. "Now quickly, get inside the Cosmodrome. We're too exposed out here."

I sprinted my was across the scarred earth, weaving though the thick tangle of rusted cars and scrap metal. I realised I was clad in some sort of basic armour. I remembered that when I died, I'd simply been wearing basic fatigues. Now, I was wearing some sort of scavenged carbon weave armour, with a tattered cloak slung over my shoulder. I also realised that I was wearing a helmet of some kind, and the visor was projecting a perfect view of the world in front of me with a very basic HUD overlayed over it. I heard the roar, this time sounding a little closer. I ran up the stairs leading into the ruined hangar ahead, and entered the filthy interior of the building inside. I scrabbled around in the complete darkness, unable to see. Then, a beam of light speared out from Ghost, who had rematerialized over my shoulder.

"Thanks Ghost," I said, glad that the small machine was with me. "The light is appreciated."

"Anytime, Guardian," replied Ghost, his single eye blinking. "I am here to assist you in any way I can."

I grinned. "Then maybe you can call me by my name. It's Ace by the way."

The ghost made a shushing sound, as booted feet trampled over the metal roof above. "Those are Fallen. We'll have to be real quiet from here on out. Watch your step, the floor looks ready to cave in."

I nodded, and moved over the metal grate. Beneath, all I could see was black fog, swirling round like a group of sharks. I reached the other side of walkway, and entered a large room that I assumed was once a major jumpship hangar. However, the fluorescent lighting had long since blown out, and the room was shrouded in darkness. Ghost cursed under his breath, and told me to wait. He then moved off into the gloom before fizzling out. I waited for about a minute, before ghost reappeared. Just as he did, the lights clunked on, confirming my suspicions. The room was empty of jumpships, and had been stripped off all vital components. Just as the lights came on at full strength, a bark sounded through the chamber, and resonated throughout the shattered building.

"Damm. They know we're here. Quickly Ace, across the bridge!"

I nodded, and sprinted across the bridge. I saw a old Khostlev Auto-rifle leaned against the wall, and scooped it up as I ran past. Ghost scanned it, and produced a few reloads of ammunition for my use. I turned into a short corridor, and skidded to a halt. Red laser beams lanced across the corridor, connected to a shape I knew pretty well despite my limited combat experience. Tripmines. Instead of following military procedure and ducking under each one, a simply let off a burst from my new gun at each of the stick-like grenades, detonating them harmlessly to the sides of me. I was almost through the gauntlet, when I met my first real alien. It was insectoid, and wore a undecorated jumpsuit with various plug sockets and spacesuit-like seals. It screeched, and fired several bolts of white hot plasma at me. I ducked behind cover, cursing as one bolt hit me. To my surprise, the bolt glanced off a energy shield of some kind surrounding me.

"Watch out! They're trying to flank you!"

I whirled to my right and shot the creature from before in the head. It literally exploded in a puff of some noxious gas that my helmet's refurbished filters couldn't quite blot out. As I did so, a new creature struck me in the back with a pair of blades. I spun, and pulled my old knife from it's holster, jamming it into the alien's head. Another puff of that noxious gas spurted out into my face. I moved from behind the pillar, and back towards the entryway to the utility tunnel I was now in. at the end of the corridor, a different creature (this time with four arms, a flattened head with mandibles and a slightly more aesthetic armour choice) shot a burst of plasma at me. I dodged to the side, expecting the bolts to pass by without hitting me. However, the bolts seemed to home in, depleting my shields (which were being displayed as a simple white bar in my helmet display) even further. I squeezed off the last few rounds in the clip of my weapon, hitting the creature in the arm. It screeched in anger, and pulled out four swords with static electricity crackling around their metal blades. It charged down the corridor, catching me while I was reloading my weapon. It hit me with the blades, taking down my shields. Before I could react, it hit me again, killing me. But that wasn't the end of me. A few minutes later, I felt my consciousness come back into being, my ghost having moved down the corridor away from the enemy to revive me. I awoke with a strangled gasp, the memories of my death an brief loss of all sense of mind and body still ringing in my head.

"How are you feeling, Guardian?"

I groaned, and unholstered my now fully loaded Khostlev. I sneaked round into the tripmined corridor, creeping into the side passage that ran parallel to the main area. I snaked under a few tripmine beams, and came up behind the insectoid alien that had killed me.

"Surprise motherfucker!"

I emptied my Khostlev into the alien's back. The creature literally flew to the floor and skidded headfirst into the opposite wall, a large hole shot through it's chest. Wisps of the noxious smoke drifted out of the rent on the alien's sparsely decorated spacesuit. Ghost whistled electronically, and told me to move on. We ran into a few more groups of aliens as we moved down the corridor. However, they posed little threat now that I was prepared for what they had in stall for me. Along the way, I picked up a old Calcutta LR-1 Sniper, which Ghost managed to restore to limited functionality. Speaking of my small friend, Ghost mainly stayed hidden, occasionally offering hints of advice, but mainly ignored my requests for information. Eventually, I realised that he was focused on some sort of inner dialogue, as I occasionally heard muttered whispers over my helmet radio. He seemed to be both ecstatic and slightly subdued. I made a note to ask him about his past later on, but I held my questions for a better time.

Everywhere I went, I say signs of decay that indicated that I had truly had been dead for a very, very long time. eventually, we came out into the open area of what once was the Cosmodrome airstrip. It was now overgrown, and filled with rusted metal and chipped concrete debris.

"Welcome to the Future, Ace." said Ghost sadly. "I didn't know what this was like before the fall, but I don't think this would be what you would call 'Golden Age Groundskeeping'."

I nodded sadly, and looked up as a massive, organic looking vessel swooped overhead, seemingly appearing from nowhere. It hovered over a section of terrain not too far away, and began dispensing troops from it's belly, their insectoid bodies falling to the ground en masse. I raised my weapon, and sprinted to the cover of a overturned shipping container. I checked my ammo, and quickly looked round the corner of the crate. There were at least four of the taller four-armed creatures, and about eight of the smaller ones. I noted that there always seemed to be more of the smaller two-armed aliens than their larger four-armed counterparts.

"Just a quick note for you Guardian," whispered Ghost. "Those two armed creatures are Dregs. They're the grunts and have little rank. Those four armed leaders are Vandals. They act as lieutenants to the larger creatures, and carry considerably higher rank. The same applies to danger. Be very careful."

I nodded, and raised my weapon. I charged into the group, and took down four of the 'Dregs' and one of the 'Vandals'. I quickly switched to my Calcutta, and delivered a killing blow to a vandal that was charging towards me. The Vandal's head exploded into a cloud of blue blood and the gas that Ghost had told me was 'Ether'. Another one of the Dregs stabbed me in the back with one of the knives it carried. I whirled, pulled my knife, and threw it right into the retreating alien's head. I spun, and fired another round from my sniper into a Vandal that had fired another burst of those seeking projectiles at me. Finally, the last few creatures retreated over the hill, presumably to regroup. I charged over the hill, and slaughtered them with my Khostlev, their attacks uncoordinated and useless. I stood there, and panted for a brief moment. I went to retrieve my knife, and found it had disappeared.

"Don't bother," said Ghost. "Your original knife was ruined long ago. I simply created one from your Light."

"Light?" I asked. "What's that?"

Ghost appeared in the air before me, and began speaking in person. "Every Guardian, whether they are Hunter, Titan or Warlock, uses a powerful resource called Light. When I revived you, I gifted you with the Traveller's Light, which brought you back to life, and allows you the incredible abilities you use in your fight. However, your light can become depleted, which is something you should avoid."

He paused, and told me to get going again. I nodded, and kept moving. Eventually (after fighting off some more enemies, and threading through a series of corridors), we came to a large, ruined hangar. In it was a Jumpship. Ghost reappeared, and began scanning it.

"It's old. Really old. We're lucky the Fallen haven't stripped it of components yet,"

"Will it fly?" I asked. I looked up at the dented hull, hoping that the dents hadn't damaged anything important.

"Ghost flitted about a bit more, and then looked back at me.

"I can make it."

He disappeared into the hull. The old ship creaked, and began to awaken. The two engine intakes began glowing, and spinning up. Exhaust outlets did pre-flight sequences, and fired up to full power. The ship tilted on it's rickety supports, and then righted itself as the already shaky supports collapsed. It hovered there in the air, the hull regaining it's original colouration. I smiled. I recognised the ship, as my Dad had once had one in his possession back before the war. An Arcadia Class Jumpship. Classic.

Just then, more fallen began spilling into the room, lead by a much bigger and bulkier fallen clad in gold armour with a red cape. I prepared for a fight, but instead felt the characteristic tingle of a transmat in process.

"Bringing you aboard," said Ghost. "Let's get to the Tower. We'll be safe there."

I rematerialized in the cockpit, the instrumentation free of dust and filth. I reclined in the leather seat as the ship fired it's engines and rocketed into the night sky. For now, we were safe.

 _Author's Note: Hey readers! This story has taken a while to write, but it's been sitting around in my head for a while. Now, for those who expected an sequel to my Warhammer 40k story, here's a quick note: I'm still writing it. Now, I've nearly got the first chapter of that done, but I'm taking a brief break from publishing it to both finish off my SubNautica story and star writing this new story. For those who are experts in the small pool of Destiny Lore, you may know that Cayde-6 was once a human with a son called Ace. Coincidence? You'll just have to see. I'm also going to announce that I'll be writing a /Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Crossover sometime next year. I'm also going to tell you that due to me taking a holiday overseas over Christmas (What? Are writers suddenly denied a brief break?) I will probably be not publishing any chapters for three weeks over Christmas. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll give you some more stuff. But, with all things, enjoy this continuing story. Well, unless I unexpectedly stop writing. In that case, this could be my last story (Just kidding, it's not. Well, at least I hope it isn't)._

 _Thanks again to CapitalClassShip and HellfireIncubus for following me and supporting my writing. If you'd like to see more stories from me, follow me on my user page. That's all for now fans!_


	2. Chapter 2: The Tower

As the jumpship flew through the upper atmosphere, the clouds slowly passing beneath the metal hull, I began wondering what had become of my family. I was so lost in my thoughts, I nearly missed the approach to one of the most beautiful things I would ever see.

"We're here," said Ghost solemnly. "Welcome to the Last City, Ace. Welcome home."

I gaped at the viewscreen as the jumpship banked on autopilot over the city. It was quite large, with a massive wall surrounding the perimeter. As I zoomed in with the jumpship's sensors, I could see hundreds of people milling around in the various marketplaces and traversing the streets. As we banked towards a massive tower in the centre of the city, I saw the Traveller, a massive white orb hovering over the centre of the city. Beneath it, many people kneeled in prayer, clad in robes and wearing masks.

"Who are those people beneath the Traveller?"

"Ghost bleeped a bit, and then responded.

"They are the disciples of the Speaker. He is the one who speaks for the Traveller. Think of him as a spiritual leader of sorts. He leads us in our fight, and he alone interprets the Traveller's wishes for humanity. You'll meet him soon enough."

The jumpship banked, and I transmatted out. Ghost piloted the jumpship into what I assumed was the hangar for the massive structure I now stood on top of. Ghost reappeared beside me as I looked at the various Guardians milling around. It was…serene.

"Welcome to the Tower, Ace." Said Ghost. "You'll want to speak with the Vanguard."

I frowned. "Who are the Vanguard?"

Ghost spun a bit in mid air. "They are our greatest representatives, one from each class of Guardian. Each of them has chosen to remain out of the field to act as commanders and leaders of each group of Guardians. As a result, some of them can get a little…antsy."

I nodded, and walked in the direction Ghost pointed me in. I passed several other Guardians, some of whom I noticed were simply just dancing.

"Why the hell are those Guardians dancing like that?" I asked, very confused.

Ghost sighed. "Some of the first guardians to come to the tower were Dance aficionados in their previous life. Some of them passed on a tradition of dancing everywhere humanly possible. Including in the middle of battle. I've heard rumours of Guardians who have danced in the middle of a battle, simply because they think they're invincible."

I sighed, and walked down the stairs. I passed a strange woman holding a glowing green rock and muttering about a person called Crota. Whatever the case, she seemed to hold a massive grudge.

"That's Eris Morn. She's the resident expert on the Hive. You better hope you don't run into them."

I reached the end of the hall, and looked into what appeared to be a command centre for the entire tower. Frames, Exo and humans stood at holographic consoles lining the room. Several wall-mounted screens displayed weapon schematics with Guardians scrolling through the images. At the far end of the room was a large window, overlooking a large mountain range in the distance. A pair of long cannons poked out from beneath the window, pointing towards the sky. In the centre of the room was a map table, with three Guardians standing round it. A the far end of the table stood a large Guardian wearing heavy, bulky armour. His skin was blue, something I made a note of to ask Ghost about later. At the end of the table closest to me stood a female guardian with dark skin. She wore robes over her armour, and had a ghost floating over her shoulder. She was examining a large leather-bound tome, something I had not seem in a long time. When I died, books were going out of fashion more that ever. So I was quite surprised to see she also had another five or six books in varying conditions. Finally, standing over a digital map that had been customised to resemble a parchment map. He was a human man wearing the clothes of a hunter, and he looked unhappy to be standing there. He looked up, and saw me standing there. He awkwardly excused himself from the other two, and came over.

"I assume you're a new Guardian?"

I nodded, and saw he was wearing a name tag. It read: _'Arthur Solas- Deputy to the Hunter Vanguard'_. He also had a smiley face spray painted onto his chestplate, which had glowing green lines crisscrossing it. I didn't recognise the make, but I recognised the glowing green lines as shield boosters. They had started to install those on combat frames, but I didn't know of any armour that used such technology. Then I remembered I had been dead for a long, long time. I made a note to pick up a few history books if I could. Preferably ones written for people who had been out of the world for a while.

"I'm Arthur Solas. I'm filling in for Cayde-6 while he…spends some time relaxing. In the meantime, I can help you with whatever you need to familiarize yourself with the world you have come into. Now, if you wouldn't mind, take these engrams and go. The engrams contain ghost-decodable armour patterns that we issue standard to new Hunters. Now, I have to go back an continue reading the latest field reports. Cayde never seems to read them…"

He walked off without giving me a chance to 'familiarize myself with the world I had come into'. I looked round at the various people and robots working on the console, shrugged, and left. I needed to get changed.

About ten minutes later, I walked into the hangar wearing my new clothes. The engrams had given me some old Sinaa Jaguar 2.1 armour, standard recon stuff that I remembered seeing in the cosmodrome museum back home. For something that was apparently standard issue, it had little comfort value, and had been stripped of almost all non-vital components. The helmet sensor array was glitch, and the life support filters were better than my old junkyard armour, but still lacking. The only good part were the gloves, which featured reflex enhancer systems for higher precision. After leaving the Vanguard headquarters, I had wandered for a bit, managing to barter with a gun dealer (they apparently called them 'gunsmiths around here) called Banshee-44 for a decent pulse rifle called the SUROS JPS-32. I assumed that SUROS was a contemporary manufacturer, as I didn't recognise the name. Despite the sights being slightly off, and the trigger being a bit sticky (I assumed the plastics were decaying, and ghost didn't have the materials available to fix it), it was a decent gun. I climbed up the staircase, and found a blond woman wearing a sleeveless green coverall standing in front of a digital display.

"Are you the Tower shipwright?" I asked. "I was told you had fixed up my jumpship."

She turned around, and grinned.

"You're the one with the old Arcadia Class right?"

I nodded. Her grin widened.

"That ship has been the most cooperative ship I've worked on all day. The avionics were more intact than you'd expect for a vessel that's been lying around for five centuries, and the engines were in almost perfect condition when you docked her. I've fixed her up fully, and I've tuned the thrusters. She'll need a spot of paint, and a new warp drive though. I've also uploaded the standard mapping software to her flight computer. You'll be able to access it through the Director function. I had to remove the weapons packages though. We need them for our combat dropships, and SUROS is dropping off a large shipment of brand new ones tomorrow. Sorry about that."

She motioned to a nearby frame to mop some oil off the floor, before turning back to me, and wishing me luck. I nodded, and walked down to the hangar floor. Once there, I quickly located my jumpship sitting in it's berth. A lot of the dented metal plating had been replaced, and the last of the dust and grime had been cleaned off by the hangar team. I hopped up onto the top, and slid open the hatch to peer inside. The leather seat had been refurbished, and now had less stuffing pouring out of the sides. The control panels had been replaced with all new holographic panels, with the few remaining hard controls moved to the sides. I noticed with some mirth that a pair of fuzzy ghosts had been hung from the ceiling. I hopped down into the seat, and placed my hands on the flight controls. Ghost buzzed in after me, and began hovering over my shoulder. I presses the button to close the canopy, and fired up the engines. Ghost looked at me and rotated his case round quizzically.

"Ready to go, Ace?"

"Yes," I replied confidently. "Let's find that engine. Engaging engines now."

The jumpship rose from the floor of the hangar, the landing gear retracting with a clunk. The viewscreen in front of me blinked on, the correct navigational path forwarded from the hangar bay traffic control room to my navigational systems. I pushed forwards on the joystick, and the ship roared out into the early evening sky. We ascended to low earth orbit, and I activated the new navigational system. A stylised display showing the various planets of the solar system popped up. A few were marked as 'Out Of Range'. I pulled the holographic map of the earth our of the frame, and spun it on top of my thumb. I selected the cosmodrome on the map, and pressed the select icon. The holographic map disappeared, and the ship's gyros whined as it spun head over tails to point to a new heading. The engines fired, and rocketed me and Ghost towards the cosmodrome, where (hopefully) I would find a functioning warp drive. My adventure had begun.

 _Author's note: OMG. I never expected so many people to favourite this story in the first 20 hours it was up. To name my current subscribers (and my current supporters), I would like to give thanks to DragonWarrior74, KnightsKing, Nactick, and SuperedX for subscribing so early in the run. I would also like to note that KnightsKing also made a compelling message on his/her profile about bullying, and would like to give him/her congrats on making such a fantastic show of good will towards those who are bullied. I myself have been bullied, and would like to say that I utterly despise those who do such things to others. I have copied/pasted the prose they posted on their profile to my profile, and would like to encourage others to do the same. Bullying is never OK, and those who do it should feel ashamed for picking on others._

 _In other, more relevant news, I would like to say that the situation with Star Trek: Dumpster Fire has grown worse. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, the new series of Star Trek, ST: Discovery has been…well a failiure to the fans. I know that a lot of people (especially the critics for some reason) like the new show, and you are entitled to your own opinion. But to be honest, it doesn't represent the optimism and forward-looking progressiveness of the previous live-action series. Star Trek: Discovery feels like it tries to copy the previous shows, but fails due to appalling writing, a confusing and muddled plot and a title sequence that the makes of Game of Thrones should be suing for IP violation. The show DOES feature the first openly gay character in the history of Trek (not counting the god-awful Jar Jar Abrams movies), and it does try to make a weak political commentary by making Klingons into Trump supporters (look it up: actually true). But the show lacks the feel of the future that the other series (including TOS) made. It makes a darker, edgier and less connected series part of Star Trek, and that is the reason why it absolutely sucks. HOWEVER, there is a show, a truly awesome and intrinsically Trek show, that (while being set in a completely different setting and having no connection to actual Trek) does the trick at providing a spiritual successor to Trek (like the 1999 movie Galaxy Quest) that many fans (including myself) feel is better that STD. It is…The Orville. Seth McFarlane, I know you'll probably never read this, but DON'T let your show be cancelled by Fox like they did with Firefly. Let your show live on, even if it ends up in syndication. Cause at this point, I'd say that Trekkies should Abandon Ship and go to watch a true vision of the future: The Orville. Thank you._


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting the Past Part 1

The jumpship screamed towards the surface, the many flaps whirring to and fro, stabilising the decent. I whooped as the ship broke through the cloudbank, and began a more level descent. A few minutes later, the dropship banked, and came into a hover above a raised embankment inside the main area of the cosmodrome. I transmatted out, and the jumpship rose back upwards on autopilot. I pulled out my auto rifle, and performed a quick scan of the area. I performed the trick Ghost had taught me, and pulled him out of his 'hyperspace pocket'. He floated above my palm, and projected a navigational display. I flicked my wrist again, and he disappeared. As I ran, Ghost gave me additional details on my mission:

"A guardian's jumpship crashed here a little while ago. I'm not sure if the Fallen have looted the warp drive yet, but we could be able to get a new one from the crashed ship. I already showed you where to go, so get there quick. The Fallen won't ignore a opportunity to loot some more technology for long."

I nodded, and kept moving. Eventually, I rounded a corner, and saw the crashed ship. A couple of dregs and a single vandal were picking over the ship, pulling damaged components out, and chucking them over their shoulders. I waled up unnoticed, and yelled.

"HEY! Insect Boys! Catch this!"

I then chucked one of the grenades I had on my belt. It landed on top of the ship right in the middle of the group. Instead of running like any human with half a brain would, the aliens simply crouched, and covered their heads. The solar grenade sent them flying, their outer clothing and parts of their skin on fire. The jumpship remained undamaged thankfully, something I didn't think of when I threw the grenade.

"That was stupid," said Ghost in a amused tone. "You could of damaged the ship."

"Damaged it any more than it already is?" I replied in a equally amused tone. "This isn't a Video Game, Ghost."

Ghost appeared, and cocked his head. "Video Game?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing you need to worry about," I said. "Just some stuff from the Golden Age."

Ghost shook his frame slowly from side to side, and drifted over to begin scanning the wreck. He flitted about for a couple of minutes before reappearing next to me.

"The drive is gone," said Ghost sadly. "But I'm picking up a signature coming from the other side of the Cosmodrome. It appears to be emanating from a undamaged warp drive. We may want to check it out."

He disappeared, and I began moving towards the direction he had indicated on my HUD. I was halfway there when I ran into a group of Fallen. They caught me by surprise, and I took several hits to my shield before I could react. I used my new pulse rifle to take out a few of the dregs, while I threw my knife at a vandal that was charging towards me. I felt a shimmer at my side, and I saw a gold-coloured hand cannon appear at my hip. I shrugged, and pulled it out of the leather holster that had also appeared beside it. To my utter surprise, the gun began emitting a corona of flames and light. I shrugged, and fired it at a vandal who had just stepped out from behind cover. The alien literally disintegrated. I laughed, an fired it again at another vandal who was charging towards me. He had just enough time to snarl, before the shot vaporised him out of existence. I fired it again, and took out a dreg who had snuck up behind me, causing my helmet to bleep a distorted warning. The alien flew backwards, disintegrating into embers as he did. The gun the disappeared, along with the holster. I frowned, and asked ghost what just happened.

"That was the Golden Gun," replied Ghost. "Every gunslinger hunter has the ability to condense a large amount of excess light into a superpowerful solar hand cannon that can literally disintegrate enemies. Be careful how you use it though, as the corona around it consumes the light that powers it. Once the light depletes, or you fire off three shots, the gun disappears until you have generated enough light to rematerialize it."

I grinned, and unholstered my pulse rifle. I reloaded the bullpup weapon, and continued on towards the ruined hangar where I first found my dropship. After neutralizing a few dregs who were scrounging round on the dusty floor of the hangar, I began threading my way through a new series of corridors towards the location of the signal. However, I didn't run into much opposition, although a few enemies attempted to sneak up on me, attempting to attack me from behind. I eventually reached a large room that had partially flooded. Ghost started whispering urgently as I began clambering down a metal staircase to the flooded floor.

"Look out," he whispered. "I'm picking up our large friend from before. He's in there, and he's not alone!"

I nodded, and pulled my Calcutta from it's location in Ghost's Hyperspace Pocket. I aimed down the scope at the large creature, who thankfully had yet to notice me. He was considerably larger than the others, and protected by some sort of shield (which I sa shimmer in mid air, kinda like heat rising off the pavement in summer). He carried a massive multi-barrelled weapon with glowing orange muzzles, and cables leading to ports in his suit. He wore some hind of head ornamentation, and had a flowing red cape with gold epaulets. His survival suit was the most ornate I had seen to date.

"He must be a very senior officer," whispered Ghost in awe. "Looks like they consider you a threat,"

I nodded, and squeezed off a shot aimed at his head. Before the bullet even hit him, he blinked to the side with a blur. He roared, and the surrounding Dregs and Vandals perked up and looked at me. A collective snarl was heard, and I saw several drone-like robots rising from the ground.

"Those are Shanks!" exclaimed Ghost. "They're scouting drones. This is a raiding party!"

"Well," I said grinning. "This party's about to be gatecrashed. Lock and Load Ghost."

"I don't have any weapons…" said Ghost belatedly as I ran off. I ignored him as I began working my way through the crowd of enemies. I took down at least ten of them before the massive creature began firing. His weapon was extremely powerful, and I managed to place a few dregs in-between him a me. The dregs literally flew apart into a shower of flesh and blood that splattered all over my armour. I fired at him one-handed with my pulse rifle, while throwing a knife into the head of a Vandal that had tried to charge at me from the side. the massive creature fired again, and took my shield down to a quarter. I cursed, and dived behind a piece of cover, stabbing a cowering Dreg through the chest with my knife. I chucked a grenade over the cover, and heard the characteristic explosion, followed by a roar of pain. I swung out, shields at full, and fired off three bursts from my rifle into the massive Fallen, who roared in pain. I noticed that my grenade had taken down his shields, and threw my knife at him. He caught it in mid air, and crushed it one handed. I swallowed as he charged towards me with a roar. I jumped out of the way, and noticed that my golden gun had appeared. I quickly activated the weapon, and fired off three shots right into his head. He roared, and then exploded into golden ashes. A single engram dropped to the ground at his feet, along with his singed red cloak. I picked both items up, dropping my tattered cloak and putting on his red cloak. It was slightly too long, and I made a note to find whatever passed for a tailor at the tower.

Ghost scanned the engram I was holding. "That's the warp drive alright. Well, about time we got out of here. Calling in the jumpship. It should be here in a few minutes."

He paused, and appeared in front of me. "Every ghost is born knowing who their Guardian is. I didn't know what you looked like, but I knew who you were. I searched across the solar system for you. I flew through the Vex ruins on Mercury, travelled through the cities on Venus and travelled through the dunes of Mars. I thought I'd never find you. But then I did! I'm glad you're my Guardian, Ace."

I grinned. "The feeling is mutual. Thanks Ghost."

The jumpship came in overhead, and I transmatted into the cockpit. Before we could ascend to orbit, I set course for the Tower, and reclined in my chair. I didn't know it, but I was about to meet someone from my past…

The jumpship arrived back at the Tower hangar. I climber out, and met the shipwright (who Ghost told me was called Amanda Holliday). Amanda assured me that she would install the warp drive, and told me to go clean up in my quarters. When I asked where they were, she told me to go talk with Kadi 55-30, the postmaster and the person responsible for tower accommodation. I walked to the post office, and found a package waiting for me.

"Package from Cayde-6, Vanguard Hunter,"

I asked for the package, and she handed it over. It was a nondescript paper-wrapped package with 'TO NEW HUNTER FROM CAYDE-6" written in ballpoint marker on the top. I unwrapped it, and a burst of confetti burst up from the package and covered my chestplate. Inside was a flashbang grenade- with the pin pulled.

"Oh SHIT!"

The grenade went off, and a burst of smelly gas came up into my face. I fanned the gas away, and heard a mechanical laugh coming from a nearby Exo. He had a horn sticking up from his forehead, and had a angular face.

"Oh, that was CLASSIC!" he laughed, doubled over. "Almost as good as the one I pulled on Master Rahool with the engram full of stinky socks!"

I glared at him as he came over, and stuck out his hand.

"Name's Cayde-6. I'm the hunter vanguard, and you must be the hunter that Arthur brushed off. Nice to meet you…?"

I grinned "Ace. My name's Ace."

Suddenly, Cayde scrambled back, a look of shock on his metal face.

"You…You're called Ace?"

I nodded, and looked closely at him. "Yeah. Y'know, you look very familiar. Did I bump into you in a previous life. The only Exo I ever knew was my Dad, and I never saw him after he went off the Clovis Bray to cure his cancer."

He gaped, and stepped forewards.

"Oh. My. Traveller. Ace, I'm your Dad."

I gaped in shock, and stepped back.

"Bullshit."

 _To Be continued…in the next chapter._

 _Author's note: Hey guys, and welcome to the end of another chapter. Now, sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger, but I couldn't write much more of this chapter. Next week, I'll publish another three chapters (give or take a few). However, the week after, I have exams, and as a result, I will be unable to write much. I might publish a few chapters, but I'm going to be pretty busy with work, so I'm pretty sure there won't be any major developments in the story the week after next. Just BTW, if you haven't already, go and subscribe to either this story or my profile. As a author, it's really nice to know if people enjoy my stories or not. To go even further, post a review like SuperedX and KnightsKing have already done. Thanks again to Nactick, SuperedX and KnightsKing for Subscribing. That's all for now folks. Goodbye for this week!_


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting the Past Part 2

"Bullshit," I said heatedly. "I'm sorry, that's utter shit."

Cayde moved forwards, and I drew my pulse rifle. He flinched, and I levelled the weapon at him.

"It's me Ace," he pleaded. "It's your dad."

I kept the rifle level, and said nothing. Cayde attempted to take another step forewards, before remembering that a rifle was aimed at him.

"If you were my dad," I said slowly, making sure that the barrel of my gun didn't shake. "You would know the name of my mother, your wife. What was her name?"

He looked panicked. "I don't remember! I've wiped my memory six times. I don't even remember the reason I wiped my memory. I have fragments, but your mother ain't one of them,"

I laughed, a humourless harsh sound. "I'm sorry. When you left…when my _Dad_ left, he promised he'd be back. That he'd be cured. Seven years later, the Fall happened, and you still hadn't come back. I was _Thirteen_ when Clovis Bray said that you'd been redeployed on active duty. That you couldn't fulfil your promise. Why am I even talking to you? You can't even prove you're my dad!"

Cayde's face fell. I'd met a few Exos before the Fall while training to be a soldier. They had been soldiers, robots whose expressions matched their impartial training. None of them had ever showed anything but a impassive, metallic expression. But this Exo seemed to show actual despair.

"You're right," he said. "I can't prove I'm your father. My memories are fragmented, my biological body gone. I can't show you a ID, I can't remember much but the war. For the past 50 years, I've been searching for you. I knew that you were probably dead. Hell, I named my gun after you. I remember that I loved you, and that I wasn't always there. I have nothing but a feeling in my metal gut to know that you're my son, and I know that you have no reason, no evidence to trust me. But I know one thing about you. One thing. Your name is Ace and I loved you very much."

He looked crestfallen. "If you like, you can just walk away. But if you want to find me, you'll find me where I usually am. In the map room. See you round, Ace."

He walked away, and I had a itching feeling to go after him. The frame behind me reached out and touched my shoulder.

"Kadi 55-30 knows one thing about User Cayde. He has a unclaimed and unsent letter for Designation Ace. No details were provided, and User Cayde left the letter here in case the Unregistered Entity known as Ace came to pick it up. Kadi 55-30 has analysed the Emotional State of User Cayde over the years, and has come to a independent conclusion: User Cayde loves his son. Missing or not."

I looked in surprise at the Frame. I'd never known a Frame to have sentience. They were designed as non-sentient labourers and soldiers. They weren't meant to come to such conclusions. I looked past the Frame at the various mailboxes, filled with packages and envelopes. The Frame had obviously spent a lot of time active. Each box was carefully tended for, with the name of the users each tended for embossed along the outside of the frame. I noticed that the Frame's torso, limbs and head showed many signs of hard, long labour: possibly since the tower was created. But I also saw signs of carefully performed repair jobs, of polished casing, of care that had been given to this frame. I looked over at the other frames, which (while well cared for by the Tower technicians) did not show this level of care or of the amount of time in service. I looked back at the postmaster, and asked one more thing.

"Please retrieve Letter from Cayde 6 to Ace."

That evening, I came up to my new quarters. They were out the back of the main courtyard, in one of the many housing units that lined the edges. It was a small room, well tended to, and bare of ornamentation. All the basic stuff was there. According to the introductory pamphlet had been given by the postmaster with my key, each guardian was assigned quarters somewhere in the tower. Most of them were quartered in the body of the tower, but a few were quartered in there relatively new rooms. Each composed of two main rooms, and a bathroom. A small food synthesiser was located in the main room, as well as a island benchtop for eating at. A sitting area was at the back, and featured what I assumed was the post-apocalyptic version of a holoscreen. A cupboard was located at the back of the room for storage. The bedroom was pretty simple, with a foam mattress and a few pillows. A blanket was provided, but Ghost said most guardians didn't sleep, as they usually were on active combat. A charging port for Exos was provided, as was a small toolkit in the bedroom. I closed the door, and sat down on the couch that was in the main room. I pulled out the sealed envelope. It was quite old, and had 'Ace' written across it in writing that I didn't recognise. Then again, I hadn't seen my Dad since I was thirteen, and that was 500 years ago. Plus, no one really wrote actual letters by the time I was born. Everyone just used texts. Plus Clovis Bray was planning to release a new thought-based communications system that would eliminate the need to even tap out a text on a screen anymore. Then the Fall happened, and everything ended. Except it both didn't and did.

Ghost hovered beside me, looking down at the letter.

"That letter is approximately 35 years old. Are you sure you want to read it?"

I nodded, and unsealed the envelope. I felt as if I was opening something that didn't quite belong to me, but when I pulled out the letter and began reading, I knew it was from my dad.

 _Dear Ace;_

 _I know you're probably dead. So many times I've tried to write this letter. So many drafts. I'm about to wipe my memory for the 6_ _th_ _time, and I will tell you why later in the letter, but for now, let me prove who I really am._

 _When I left home all those years ago, cancer killing my flesh body, and my hopes fixated on finding a cure at Clovis Bray, I promised you I'd be back. That I'd be in a different body- a strange, metal one- but that it would me. I left, and Clovis Bray turned me into what they later called a Exo. I didn't know it then, but they had no intention of sending me home. I lost my name that day, and they gave me a name: Cayde._

 _I don't remember much after that. They wiped my memory three times, each time after I began to remember my old life. They were scared of a robot uprising, like I in those old Terminator Holomovies, and they feared me as a result. I was a soldier, one they could control. After those three times, the collapse happened, and I got sent out to fight in the hopeless battle. Did you know that although Humans and Awoken can remember the majority of their past life, Exo revived by ghosts suffer a effect simular to memory wipe. Each time our memory is wiped, we lost bits of our memory forever, but they're not gone. I remember fragments, but each is like a fish swimming round a pond. At least I think they are. But let me continue this metaphor, if you will. I remember fragments, and I can 'catch' more by associating objects that I currently possess with memories. For instance, I have a hand cannon which I associate with you. It's called 'The Ace of Spades'. Pretty damm catchy name, but the gorram gunsmith won't start building it. He keeps talking about how 'You don't have enough glimmer to pay for a custom job'. I tell him 'Well maybe you'll help a fellow Exo and just build it?'. He just doesn't get that glimmer is meant to be spent on drinks. Not on guns. Well, guns are good, but would you rather get drunk out of your metal ass or buy a hand cannon with a poker symbol on it? I really would prefer the drinks. They help me keep my mind off the fact that I have no idea what to say in this letter. Oh right, I've already written most of it. Guess I've had a few too many drinks. Now that I read what I've written, I realise that this is the letter I've been looking for. No! I don't want to leave. Eris can wait Amanda! Uugh, Vanguard stuff. Anyway, I hope I finally find you. I'm just going to finish this whiskey…maybe another two. Goodbye possible figment of my drunk ass mind!_

The letter was unsigned, and undated. I also noticed several spelling errors in the document, and what looked like beer stains and a few decaying peanut crumbs along the centre fold. I read it again, and smiled. Guess Dad hadn't lost his sense of humour. The reason I was so sure? Nobody else I knew used the word Gorram. Dad used to love that old space western show. Flame Mosquito or something. There was some sort of cowboy astronaut who Dad joked was his uncle. They sounded so simular. I didn't get why he watched a show that was cancelled after one year almost 200 years before I was even born. He said I 'didn't appreciate the classics' and that 'I should shut my gorram mouth'. I tucked the letter back into the envelope, and went to find Cayde.

"Ace!"

Cayde rushed from the map table, looking like he was going to hug me. He then remembered what I had said, and stopped.

"Don't worry Cayde, I'm definitely your son," I said grinning. "No other person uses the word 'Gorram' in normal conversation. You still obsess over a dead show?"

He gaped, and then set his metal mouth into a smile.

"OMT. So you read that letter?"

I nodded, and was about to move forward to hug him, when the Titan Vanguard interrupted with a polite cough.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the family reunion, but we have a situation here. We were just about to summon you in fact…Ace is it?"

I stepped forwards, all focused on the job now. "Commander Zavala wasn't it?"

The tall man (apparently a member of a race called 'Awoken') nodded, and gestured towards the map table.

"Three hours ago, one of our listening posts near the Cosmodrome picked up a signal emanating from a unknown location. It was a wide-area broadcast, and quite fragmented. It contained some form of distorted radio message, which we were unable to decipher. A few minutes later, we intercepted a Fallen communication from the same area of the cosmodrome. Our translators worked out that they were ripping apart a certain area of the Cosmodrome looking for some Golden-Age treasure. We need you to scout out the location and find out what the Fallen have discovered. We're counting on you, Guardian."

I nodded, and said my goodbyes. I rushed out, telling Ghost to summon the ship. I reached the courtyard, and transmatted into the cockpit. I fired the boosters, and began my trip to the Cosmodrome.

 _Authors Note: Well, here is chapter 4 of Outbound hopes people. I have a few things to say, one of which is thank you! I have received 7 follows from people now for this story in the short time it's been out, and I'd like to thank the new followers. Thanks to Clare Prime of Ultra, PrimesGirl93 (are you the same person as the previous follower? If so, thanks for your support), SynapticSync and Dekuton. I'd also like to thank Claire Prime of Ultra especially for also favouriting the story. Your support helps me keep the courage to publish this stuff. They say that writing comes from the soul, so I'd like to thank these people for aiding the transferal of writing from such a non-scientific concept that I totally don't believe in._

 _Just BTW, there will probably be 2 chapters for this story published this week, as I have exams next week, and therefore need to study. As a result, please hold on for the next few instalments. As a warning, this may be all I can publish this week, so hold your hats. As always, please review this story and tell me what you think!_


	5. Chapter 5: Discovery

The dropship banked, and I deployed on top of the same hill as before. I looked around, and noticed that the signal was quite some time away. I was about to start slogging my way there, when Ghost piped up.

"When I scanned that crashed jumpship, the dead Guardian's log indicated that he'd activated a old transmat relay not to far from our present location. However, the system doesn't appear to be working now. If I can get that working, I can summon a Sparrow and help you get there quicker. I've marked the hut where the relay is on your HUD. Good luck, Ace."

I quickly sprinted to the designated location, taking care of a few stray Dregs along the way. I noticed that although the Fallen controlled the Cosmodrome, and there seemed to be ships reinforcing their numbers from some HQ, there wasn't much activity on the ground. I asked Ghost about it, wondering why we couldn't just take the Cosmodrome through sheer force.

"If we did that, we'd probably need to invest significant resources in defending it. The cosmodrome covers a rather large area, and although there are many Guardians, your numbers are limited compared to the Fallen. There are approximately 2000 active Guardians serving at the tower. There are over 100,000 Fallen currently on Earth. We would need to severely limit our other activities elsewhere in the solar system just to control one portion of the Cosmodrome, let alone a entire continent. So, we defend the Tower and wait for our numbers to climb. However, there are only around three new guardians maximum coming to the tower each year, and we lose guardians faster than they come in. So in the long term, such a action would be both costly and possibly lethal to the surviving members of the human race. These scavengers don't pose a threat to us, so we leave them alone till we can properly deal with them. Happy?"

I thanked Ghost, and kept moving. I spotted the relay station up ahead, with a squad of Fallen surrounding it. A pair of specialised Shanks were scanning the decaying structure with red beams, and the six Dregs present were already examining some old circuit boxes. One of the three Vandals looked up and spotted me. He gave a rasping bark, and alerted the other aliens to my presence. I smiled, and pulled my Calcutta. I headshotted one of the Vandals, and managed to graze the other on the arm with a follow up shot. The six dregs scattered, firing their plasma weapons as they did. I dodged the shots that did actually come close to hitting me, and pulled a grenade out as I ran up to a rocky outcrop. Activating the grenade, I chucked it right at the feet of a group of four Dregs who were huddled behind the ramshackle relay hut. They looked down, and then glanced back at each other. Then the grenade detonated, and they went flying, one of them becoming a flaming pinwheel spinning through the air. The remaining Vandal watched the unfortunate Dreg pinwheel through the air, forgetting me for a fatal moment. I walked a pulse burst up his chest and through his head. He collapsed, wisps of grey smoke drifting up from his ruined survival suit. I then proceeded to wipe the floor with the remaining two Dregs with my knife. After the aliens were dispatched, I deployed ghost to repair the partially disassembled relay unit. He flitted too and fro, occasionally harvesting spinmetal (some silvery metal that seemed to be grown in plant-like clumps by out-of-control nanites) from nearby growths. The process of repair took all of three minutes. After than, Ghost came back and told me to summon my Sparrow. I was sort of confused as to what a Sparrow was, until Ghost showed me a holographic image.

"A Hoverbike! I get a Hoverbike?"

Ghost bleeped a affirmative, and told me to interface with his navigational display. I did so, and pressed the floating holographic icon to activate the transmat. A floating jetbike then appeared next to me. I swung a leg over, and thrusted away. I whooped in delight, and then told ghost to call up some music.

"What kind of music?" Ghost asked.

"Something…awesome." I responded.

 _I Can't stand it; I know you planned it;_

 _But I'm going to set straight this Watergate;_

 _I can't Stand rocking when I'm here;_

 _Because your Crystal Ball ain't so Crystal Clear;_

 _So while you sit back and wonder why_

 _I got this fucking thorn in my side;_

 _Oh my Good it's a miracle_

 _I'm telling y'all it's Sabotage…_

I smiled as the opening lines of Sabotage by the Beasty Boys blared out of my helmet speakers. I saw some Dregs nearby and pulled the bike into a skid, slamming into them. they went flying and fell to the ground unconscious. I noticed I was not next to the source of the signal (which was coming from some sort of ship that had run aground. The Fallen swarming all over the ship perked up, and began shooting at me.

 _…I'll tell you now I keep it on and on_

 _'Cause what you see you might not get;_

 _And we can bet you don't get souped yet;_

 _You're scheming on a thing that's a mirage_

 _I'm trying to tell you now it's Sabotage…_

I jumped up onto the top of the ship, and began firing my pulse rifle into the Vandals clustering on top. The Dregs on the ground appeared reluctant as they poured up the mostly-intact stairwell to come fight me. I wiped the floor clean with the Vandals, and then started on the Dregs.

 _…I can't Stand it: I know you planned it;_

 _But I'm going to set straight this Watergate;_

 _I can't stand rocking when you're in this place_

 _But I feel disgrace cause you're in my face…_

As I finished off the last of the Dregs, another one of the large commanding officers came up and attempted to brain me with the butt of his Shrapnel Launcher. I ducked, and jammed my pulse rifle under his chin.

"Say hi to your friends asshole…in HELL!"

 _...What could it be, it's a mirage_

 _You're scheming on at thing, that's Sabotage!_

I then blew his brains out with a few quick bursts. His body slumped to the ground. Out of the folds of his cloak rolled a blue engram.

"Master Rahool can probably decode that back at the tower," said Ghost. "Now, I need to scan this signal transmitter. Give me a moment."

I nodded, and noticed my cloak had a bullet hole through it. I grimaced. Once I bought that fallen cloak to Eva Levante (the tower outfitter), she had quickly tailored it to fit me. It still smelled a bit of Fallen, but that was nothing a good dry cleaning wouldn't fix. I turned back to Ghost, just as he was finishing up with the transmitter.

"It's a old military signal. However, it's too fragmented to identify. I'm picking up a more coherent signal coming from a old building near the Skywatch. Let's go."

I jumped off the rusting hulk, and transmatted my Sparrow in. I then rocketed off towards the Skywatch. Along the way, I ran into a few more fallen than I had seen in the other areas of the cosmodrome, showing how interested they were in the area. I saw the building in the distance, and gunned the thrusters. I slid up to the base of the hill, jumping off as I did. There were a large amount of vandals, and only a few dregs present. A Captain stood on top of the hill, his back turned. I snuck up to one of the Vandals, and tapped it on the shoulder. The alien turned, and screeched. I smiled under my helmet, and stabbed it through the face with my knife. It fell, and I delivered a burst from my gun right into a Dreg's torso, throwing it backwards. I quickly and efficiently took out the aliens, right up until I came to the captain. He then got me from behind, and I died for the second time.

When I reanimated, I was back at the base of the hill. The captain was prowling nearby, and had a spring to his step. I ran to a nearby piece of rock, and shot him three times with my Calcutta. The first two shots took down his shields. The last shot killed him dead. He slumped, his head missing.

"Right. Let's scan that transmitter," said Ghost. "There's a storm coming, and we need to get back to the tower before conditions become unfavourable for flight."

I nodded, and ran into the building. The last transmitter was making a sound that sounded like singing. From my time stationed at the Cosmodrome, I recognised the language as Russian. However, the singing was off tune and very electronic. Ghost flitted about for ages, his many polygons rotating and clicking into place. Finally he turned.

"It's a Warmind. Not any old one, but the Warmind Rasputin! We thought all of his kind perished during the collapse, but he's still active. The signal is telling those who find it to go deep within the Skywatch. Apparently, the Fallen are messing with something that Rasputin doesn't want them toying with."

I nodded, and called in the ship. We ascended to orbit, and began the return to the tower. However, I didn't notice the strange figure watching our departure, her metal face twisted into a smile.

 _Author's note: OK. Now, I do realise I said a little while ago that there probably wouldn't be a third chapter this week, but I may be able to squeeze in the time to write one. In addition, I know that I have made a huge division from the proper story, but this is a OC character with a different path to take than the original Young Wolf. As a result, things happen slightly differently (like the Exo Stranger appearing at the end of the second story mission rather than the end of the tutorial). As well as this, I have a quick thing to ask. Please. Leave. Reviews. The only person who consistently reviews is the awesome KnightsKing, who has done a great job leaving reviews. I haven't seen many others besides them leave a review, and I need feedback. I know that some of my readers probably don't maintain accounts on Fanfiction. But really, you can leave a review that I will fairly moderate. Just review at the bottom of the page. So, here's my ultimatum. If I don't get sufficient reviews, there won't be a third chapter published this week. If you publish enough reviews, I will strive to write and publish that third weekly instalment. See you Saturday/next week!_

 _Copyright Note: Sabotage! by the Beasty Boys is the Property of GR2 Records; Copyright 1993. The lyrics to the song are used under the Fair Use act 2007. All rights and Lyrics belong to the Beasty Boys and associated business partners._


	6. Chapter 6: Day of Mourning

My jumpship arrived back at the tower, the transmat system depositing me outside as the jumpship flew into the maw of the hangar. I remembered I had a engram to decode, but I also had some glimmer to spend, and I needed something to replace my now outclassed sniper rifle. I decided to go to Banshee-44 first, and walked over. After chatting for a bit, and purchasing a new shotgun (a Suros MKB-51), I continued on to the Tower's resident cryptarch. As I walked to Master Rahool to get the engram decoded, I noticed that there was a bunch of scary decorations put up all around the tower. Was it…Halloween?

"Ah, Ace, wasn't it?" asked Master Rahool. "I assume you have a engram for me to decode. Unless this is a social visit?"

I smiled and opened my inventory management system. "It's a business call. I need this engram decoded, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Certainly!" said Master Rahool. "It'll just take a few moments to crack the data encryption. Ah! I haven't seen one of these guns in ages. Looks like the engram information was faulty. This is a legendary engram. As well as that, it contains a hand cannon, not a pulse rifle as the header says. The _'Imago Loop'_ according to this unscrambled information. Ah, this takes me back a long way…"

Ghost had warned me about two things with Master Rahool. One was his old habit of switching out engrams for ones he knew were worse than the one you gave him. Apparently that had been fixed when Cayde asked him to 'Decode this Sack of Doorknobs'. The other was his tendency to lapse into long tales. Despite being one of the most experienced cryptographers in the tower, and certainly the oldest active Guardian in the world, he was still as eccentric as all the university professors I had been lectured by during my brief stint at the University of Alberta. So I already had been briefed on how to disengage from such rambles.

"I'm sorry Master Rahool, but I'm needed in the Control room. Thanks for decoding the gun."

I nodded to him, and ran towards the control room, hoping Cayde would be there. I passed Eris, who was standing among a group of pumpkin skulls, arguing with a human janitor.

"I don't care that it's 'Part of the Holiday Spirit! Crota's Bane will NOT be part of your childlike festivities! The Darkness must be kept at bay!"

"But Ma'am! I'm not the one who put them there! the maintenance staff were explicitly warned by Commander Rey not to decorate any part of your workspace! I have no responsibility…"

I ran past, heading for the control room. I passed many Guardians wearing holographic costumes, and others wearing masks of other people at the tower and other places. Ahead, I saw that Zavala and Ikora were absent, while Cayde stood at the map table talking with Arthur Solas.

"Sir, May I remind you that today is MY day off?"

"But Arthur, I'm the Vanguard Hunter! You're my Deputy! Can't you celebrate tomorrow or the next day or something?"

Solas sighed. "You do realise that tomorrow is the day of Mourning, and the celebrations only occur the day before, don't you?"

"Oh. Well, let's assume that I have a few hundred units of Glimmer with your name on it if you 'decide' to take today to stand here and read some of these wonderfully 'entertaining' reports?"

Solas looked thoughtful. "Make that 1000 Glimmer and two legendary engrams. Then we'll have a deal."

"Done!" said Cayde. He turned, and spotted me.

"Ace! You're back!"

I grinned and wrapped him in a hug. Arthur looked uncomfortable, and moved off towards a control panel to retrieve the latest field reports. I walked out of the room with Cayde, towards whatever passed for a bar around the Last City.

"So…you want a lemonade?"

"Cayde!"

My dad laughed, his mouth lighting up with mirth. As it turned out, Exo can drink and eat. The scientists at Clovis Bray apparently built a biobattery into their torsos that could turn organic and inorganic matter into energy. As a result, Cayde was digging into a plate of what appeared to be spaghetti, and had a massive tankard full of beer. I was still waiting on my order.

"I'm not 13 again," I said, smiling. "I _am_ old enough to drink alcohol."

Cayde laughed again, wheezing electronically. My order finally arrived. Since he had taken me to a facsimile of a Italian restaurant in the middle of the last city, I had ordered what I always took as the ultimate Italian dish.

"Pizza? Seriously?" said Cayde in disbelief. "My god, you come to the _only_ Italian restaurant in the entire _world_ and you eat PIZZA?"

I frowned at him. "Pizza is the best. What do you have wrong with it?"

He coughed into his fist and gaped at me, I smirked at his expression that would be normal on a human face, but looked extremely comical on that of a Exo.

"First off, that dough from this place will give ya cardiac arrests," Cayde stated. "Second of all, that grease clogs up my finger joints and is IMPOSSIBLE to get off. Third, said grease begins to stick, and I get as light-fingered as a arthritic tortoise. Fourth, you're having PIZZA with PINEAPPLE! Who does that? Lastly- and this is the big one- I though I raised you better than that! I mean, didn't I ever tell you that pineapple doesn't go on top of Pizza? That's a crime against humanity!"

I laughed as he gaped even more. This caused me to laugh even harder, which caused Cayde to begin laughing. We continued sharing our mirth for the next hour, after which I began to feel like I was home again. But as always, work will always get in the way. After another hour, Ghost informed me that I was needed by Commander Zavala. I finished my light beer, and excused myself. I walked back to the Tower, and caught the high-speed lift up to the top floor. When I finally got there (lots of parties and lots of people catching the lift), I jogged to the Control room. Commander Zavala was waiting there for me to arrive.

"Ah good, Ace," he said, greeting me. "Our computers just decoded Rasputin's full message. Turns out he instructed us to send a guardian to a deactivated satellite array in the cosmodrome. The array was once used to link all the Warminds together. If we can reactivate it, we may be able to get Rasputin to use the old planetary defence network to keep any enemy ships from arriving. All the invaders would be cut off from resupply! We would finally be able to gain ground, and take back more of our home. I'd like you to head out to the array and reactivate it. Rasputin has kindly provided some activation codes. Your Ghost should have the details now."

I nodded, and rushed out the door. I pulled out my new Imago Loop, and checked the load. It was a very large revolver with a removable cylinder. I holstered it, and checked my other weapons. I pulled out the new shotgun that I bought from Banshee-44, which I proceeded to holster across my back. I then ran to the hangar, and flew out into the night sky.

 _Author's note: Sorry everyone for the wait. I was quite lax in releasing this chapter, which I started before Halloween, and ended up publishing closer to Christmas. So yeah, shorter chapter. I'll be publishing more at some point, but I'd like to take the time to thank a few new people to favourite and follow this story. You guys are really showing support for this, and I'd therefore like to acknowledge the following individuals. Thanks to Corbyl Undromiel, Dr Nafario, Saberius Prime, StarGazerNightSky, Steel Sombrero and TheHyperDragon for favouriting and following, and additionally hamhjolf Stormcrown for following. Thanks guys, see you next week! BTW, next weeks battle song will be something from a Australian band. Kudos for guessing which one!_


	7. Chapter 7: Battle at the Skywatch

I transmatted into the lower floor of the Skywatch array, the water pooling on the muddied ground lapping at my feet. It was deserted, and there were no foes to be seen. I stepped forwards through the muck and derbies, my boots splashing across the inundated floor. I raised my hand cannon as Ghost appeared over my shoulder to provide some light.

"Ace, be careful. I'm sensing a unidentified biosignature in the rooms above us, and there are Fallen past that doorway."

I nodded, and swung my gun barrel around the corner. Nothing. Not even a single fallen growl. Then, I saw a shimmer rushing towards me. I jumped back as a Vandal with four electrified blades leapt from thin air with a growl. I parried a blade with my arm guard, and dropped a solar grenade at my feet as I jumped back. The vandal looked down in surprise, and then looked back up with it's head cocked. The grenade then went off as more shimmers rounded the corner. I stepped back as they prowled towards me.

"Ghost, some music please," I said calmly. "Preferably something to my tastes."

"Certainly," said Ghost, disappearing. "One moment please."

 _…Back in black_

 _I hit the sack_

 _I've been too long I'm glad to be back_

 _Yes, I'm let loose_

 _From the noose…_

I smiled as AC/DC's classic rock song 'Back in Black' from the 20th century blared from my helmet speakers. I began shooting in time to the classical rock guitar riffs, each shot blowing a chunk from a enemy Vandal. A few dregs rushed in with a combination of pistol and shortsword. I blew each of their heads in while humming the lyrics in time to the song.

 _…Well, I'm back, back  
Well, I'm back in black  
Yes, I'm back in black…_

I proceeded to fight off a few more vandals as the music spiked. With all enemy threats finished, I rushed through the doorway, putting a round into a stray Dreg cowering behind a rusted vehicle. I then ran up the metal staircase, arriving in a old computer room. Inside, crusty layers of some unidentifiable substance covered several surfaces. Ghost shone a light around the room, picking out several armoured aliens who looked like a cross between a crustacean and a insect.

"Those are Hive!" exclaimed Ghost. "Quick, kill them!"

 _…Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack  
Yes, I'm in a bang  
With a gang  
They've got to catch me if they want me to hang…_

I wiped the floor with several smaller, faster and less armoured Hive (which Ghost labelled as 'Thralls" in my HUD), before moving onto a group of ranged fighters that Ghost called 'Acolytes'. I then spotted two bigger Hive, both extremely armoured. Ghost popped up a banner calling them 'Knights'.

 _…Nobody's gonna get me on another rap  
So look at me now  
I'm just makin' my play…_

I managed to take down the Knights pretty easily with some blasts of my shotgun. A few stragglers came into the room, but were quickly wiped from mortal existence by my Imago Loop. Finally, I shot the last remaining Hive in the head in time to the last riff of the music. The shot reverbed for a moment, before perfectly ending along with the guitar. I stood up, panting. I then reloaded my pistol, collected some engrams dropped by the Hive (probably looted from some other place in the Cosmodrome and regarded by the Hive as just nice-looking gems) and headed up the rest of the stairs. Eventually, I arrived in a central control room at the top of the array, where a few Fallen milled about. I took them out, and then commanded Ghost to access the primary control console at the back of the room. Ghost flitted about for a bit before turning around in apparent alarm.

"Fallen! They're coming in hot!"

I rushed to the open roller door at the front of the control room and stared out at the fleet of dropships inbound to my position. There was at least four that were currently landing their troops, and another two that were charging their weapons ready to lay down fire at me from above. I jumped behind a thick concrete pillar as the two dropships blew craters in the floor where I had previously been standing. The ground shook as the dropships continued pounding that spot with their weapons, both deceived and blinded by the cloud of dust rising from that spot. I smiled as they fired into the dense smoke, unaware that I had moved out of the way. I rolled through the smoke and through to the other side, using the cloud as cover.

As a result of this, the enemy troops moving round the pillar I previously was hidden behind found nothing of me. They must have been quite shocked when- the minute they turned around the march back to their dropships- I leapt through the smoke and fired my shotgun into them. It was a total slaughter. They were completely unprepared, and I only took a few glancing and badly aimed shots from a few panicked Dregs.

By this time, the enemy had truly noticed that was still present, and the other dropships were now landing their troops. I pulled my Imago Loop, and fired several precision shots into the heads of the first wave. By now, the Array transmitter was beginning to unfold, mechanically rising from the hardpoint it occupied and beginning to power up. I noticed two fallen dropships breaking off to attack the array. Ghost chimed in over my communications system.

"Those dropships are trying to destroy the Array! Take them out!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" I exclaimed, taking out a few Vandals with cloaking tech. I jumped up onto a cargo container and began unloading my shotgun into a hoard of Shanks approaching below. Then my shotgun clicked empty. I pulled my Imago loop, and diverted my attention to the dropships. However, my helmet rangefinder showed that the attacking craft were too far away for my revolver to be any use at all.

"Ghost, any ideas on how to harm those dropships?"

My companion bleeped for a bit before falling silent. However, a outline appeared under some fallen bodies: a rocket launcher.

"Excellent!"

I dived back into the hoard, picking up some ammo engrams as I did so. My belt-housed Ammo Decoder turned the cubical engrams into useable ammo as I did so. I reloaded my shotgun and pumped a few shells into a group of Dregs. I took out the immediate threats, and then dug through the massive sheet of bodies lying on the ground for the rocket launcher. The dropships near the transmitter were already firing their plasma weapons into the transmitter array. Luckily, the array was military design, and was built to survive a beating if the Cosmodrome (and by extent Earth) came under assault. Luckily it had not already taken such a beating in the collapse. I finally extracted the rocket launcher, and found it loaded with three rockets. Perfect.

I aimed the launcher at the first dropship, and pulled the electronic trigger. The launcher bucked in my grip as the rocket inside leapt towards the enemy ship. Problem was, a dreg just deploying from a new dropship fell right into the path of the missile. The resulting explosion caused the Dreg's dropship to slam right into a nearby building. Before falling on top of the other ground troops.

"Oops…" I said. "My bad."

I primed the next rocket, and aimed it at the dropship I had been trying to hit before. The launcher shook backwards as the rocket flew on a pillar of smoke towards the dropship. It hit right on the main engine array. The dropship spiralled down, trailing smoke. It smashed into a group of what I hoped were maintenance huts at the base of the array. I aimed my last rocket at the other dropship. The other ships had already deposited all their troops, most of whom were currently dead, the others running like hell away from the ether-covered madman I must have looked like. I internally sent a prayer to some benevolent god who might still be looking out for humanity. With a deep breath, I pulled the trigger, just as the dropship charged it's weapons for the burst of plasma that would finally break through the broken armour plating on the transmitter and doom my hopes of saving humanity. The rocket impacted the dropship, and plunged right into the belly of the bulbous ship.

Unbeknownst to me, the rocket failed to hit anything of any importance. It actually just hit a fluid tank that was part of the dropship's backup hydraulic drop-door system, and failed to destroy the armoured component. However, the tank's armour plating had been accidentally damaged by a Dreg's weapon before he dropped, and as a result, the tank's usually rocket-impervious armour was already weakened. Not rent though. In fact, it was still in pretty good condition when the rocket hit. The tank contained a substance which was both highly acidic and highly flammable, which was why the container had been constructed from a highly durable material that was designed to contain any leakage. The initial blast from the rocket would have melted the normally 50mm armour down to about 15mm- if the tank hadn't been damaged. The blast actually melted the armour down to 8mm, and the concussive shock opened a tiny hole in the metal: enough to allow a trickle of acid to burn through the untreated core of the armour, and widen the hole. The blast also unfortunately caused a electrical short circuit, igniting the acid.

Now, this less-than-normal acidic hydraulic fluid was very volatile. It contained the chemically-stored energy equivalent to 30kg of TNT, using earth measurements. The crew bay, along with the rest of the dropship, disintegrated. Disintegrated in a violent, spectacular and (thankfully) undamaging fashion. There was pretty much no wreckage to speak of.

"You're lucky that didn't damage the Array," said Ghost, appearing next to me with a flash of light. "If that ship had been any closer than it was to that transmitter, we'd be looking at a useless pile of scrap. Instead, we're looking at a golden age marvel!"

I stared at the fully extended array, which was glistening in the rising sunlight. It looked like a giant metal tulip, with a narrow set of angular, petal-shaped antennae stretching up into the sky. The armour plating on the 'petals' was seared and rent in places, but- as I watched- a beam of light shot up into the sky. However, this lasted for all of three seconds, before the array shut off. I frowned at Ghost.

"Shouldn't that have stayed on? I remember that when the warsat network was fully active and under the Array's control, the beam was pretty much always on. Made for some great late-night snapshots, but it was always on."

"Something's not right," Ghost said worriedly. "Rasputin said he wanted the array active. He never said to us what he intended to do with it once it was active. Hmmm…I wonder if he didn't actually intend to activate the warsats. Hang on a moment. Bring me back to that console. I want to check out what he sent out with the array."

I rushed back into the control room, Ghost bobbing in the air beside me the entire way. He began scanning the console, the screen flashing through diagnostic windows and data fields. He increased the frequency of his scans, his polygons clicking faster. Suddenly, he shut his beam off and turned to me.

"It's Rasputin! He's locked me out of the Array. But from what I gather, Rasputin was actually sending a activation code to old Warminds on the outer planets. Mars, Venus, Mercury, Ceres and Pluto: they all were installed with Warminds. Mercury's Warmind was lost when the Vex turned the planet into a machine. Pluto got hit hard during the end Collapse and was destroyed. Ceres was obliterated by a enemy battle fleet in the opening engagement of the Collapse. Which leaves the Warminds on Mars and Venus. I wonder what Rasputin is up to…"

Ghost twitched a bit and shuddered. "Wait…we're being called back to the tower. The Speaker wants to talk to us. Wow! We're going to meet the Speaker!"

I smiled. "Well come on then Toto! We're off the meet the Speaker!"

 _Author's note: Well there's another chapter down! I was so sorry I hadn't posted for long that I sneaked in this second chapter for this week! Thank you for all your positive reviews people! Even the negative ones were pretty helpful. I tried to slow it down slightly this time round and linger a bit on some of the scenes. Did I do a good job of that? Please respond!_

 _In other news, my work on the first chapter of what I'm calling "The Smegging Early Years" is going well. I'm already got a basic plot down, but struggling with the protagonist. For those who have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, I'm writing a fanfic about the British cult-classic sci fi sitcom Red Dwarf set aboard the titular JMC Mining Ship 14 years before the radiation leak that sets the series going. There will be no Lister, no Kryten and no Cat._

 _Which brings me to the protagonist. I am having trouble deciding between a random crewmember or Arnold J Rimmer from when he started serving aboard Red Dwarf. Rimmer worked aboard the Dwarf for 14 years, four of which were spent with Lister. So 14 years before the leak, he was just starting his career. So please, Private message (not review) me with your say on it. I want to keep the reviews free of discussion about other stories, and would appreciate you using the PM system._

 _Anyway, that's all for now. Thank you for reading this story so far. Chapter 8 comes out next week!_

 _Copyright Note: Back In Black by AC/DC is the property of Atlantic Records, Copyright 1980. The lyrics to the song are used under the Fair Use act 2007. All rights and lyrics belong to AC/DC and associated business partners._


	8. Chapter 8: The Speaker

My Jumpship screamed over the mountains, contrails marking its passage over the earth below. As I sat at the controls, Ghost fussed over little things I had to remember when I met the Speaker.

"…Don't be too formal: that's very important. Remember to wash that Ether off you: use some of the _GibOff_ detergent in the cupboard back at the Tower. Make sure your gun is polished, and your hair is brushed. We'll need to…"

"Ghost," I said sternly. "Have you seen the Star Wars movies from the 20th century?"

He bleeped a bit, and nodded his frame up and down. I internally gave a sigh on relief.

"Right now, you are acting more-or-less like a certain fussy golden android. So unless you feel like reviving me after I jump off the top of the tower 150 times in a row, please stop fussing. I'm sure that he's seen worse. Hell, I'm sure he'll be glad I'm not a very good dancer. Stop acting like my mother!"

Ghost quizzically clicked a few polygons, before giving a affirmative bleep. The sound he made was comically forlorn, something enhanced by the fact it sounded rather much like R2D2 when he was sulking. I gave a hearty laugh which my friend hesitantly joined in on. This caused me to go into further hysterics, leading to a near loss of control. Luckily, I pulled out of the spinning dive four meters above the tip of a particularly tall mountain.

"Don't do that again," reprimanded Ghost. "You can be revived, but jumpships's can't be. Please be careful with the ship."

"Yes mother, I'll even give her a wax and buff," I snarked. "Please Ghost: no backseat driving."

We stayed silent for the remaining few minutes of the journey back. As the ship cruised over the last of the mountains, I piloted the ship down through the lowest layer of the clouds. As I did, we say the Last City in all it's glory. The first time I had seen this, I had been more focused on the people and the dormant body of the Traveller to notice the finer details. Now, as we passed over for another time, I noticed some of the finer details. While from a ground level the city looked dilapidated in parts, and lived-in in others, the city looked beautiful from the air. The wall which lined its border was dotted with defence turrets, some of which tracked my craft for a bit before swivelling to look back out at the plains surrounding the city. The wall was dotted with several armoured doors, many with battle damage. To my surprise, the fields round the city were being tended by tiny figures, with others standing guard at regular intervals.

"Citizens of the city, protected by some of our earthbound Guardians," stated Ghost, noticing what I was looking at. "They tend those fields to provide the last city with the crops that we can't replicate from glimmer. As a result, they knowingly are vulnerable to enemy attack, so the Vanguard offers a rotation of Guardians from the dedicated defence forces to protect them while they work. As a Hunter, you will not be given such duty. Instead, you are expected to perform field work most, if not all of the time. Warlocks are assigned research or administrative tasks when not fighting. But for Titans, that duty is simply part of their duties."

I banked the craft over in the direction of the Tower. As we came into a landing in the hangar, I noticed that the majority of the gunships and Combat Jumpships that were usually in their berths were gone. I noted that Amanda Holliday was at some screens on the upper level. After connecting the hangar's fuel hoses to my Jumpships connector ports, I walked up to her. She was intently studying readouts showing diagnostic information. As I watched, a red warning popped up on one of the diagrams.

"What's going on Amanda?" I asked. "There some trouble?"

The Tower Shipwright turned around, telling the Exo on duty at the station to monitor the situation. "Ah, Ace. Yes, we've got a major Fallen raiding party moving in on our innermost threat perimeter. We've dispatched a pair of fireteams and the majority of our ground-attack craft to engage them before they reach the farming grounds. As of now, the battle's going quite well for us. The Fallen are from the House of Kings, and they aren't really the shiniest wrenches in the toolbox. Where are you off to now?"

"I've been asked to meet with the Speaker in the observatory," I said to her. "Any pointers on where to go? I didn't know we had such a place in the Tower."

She grinned. "Most people say that. Even I have trouble finding people here. Just go out into the Plaza and go underneath the staircase on the far side. Head through the tunnel there, and you should come out near the Tower Marketplace on the other side. There should be a short bridge connecting the area to the Speaker's observatory. It's hard to miss the observatory. Only place with a giant, spinning telescope-globe thingy."

I thanked her, and headed out of the hangar. The message from the Speaker had not given a definite time, so I went back to my apartment and showered in the small bathroom. After drying myself off, I headed back to Master Rahool and had my new engrams decoded. After dodging another long rant from Rahool, I went back to my apartment and changed into the unsoiled gear that he had given me in exchange for the Engrams. I now had a Vaquero 1.1 helmet, with much better filters and sensors than my last helmet. My chestplate was now a Corsair Revenge 1.0, with much better armour than I previously had. I now wore a pair of Sinaa Lamprey armoured pants, which were a lot more comfortable than my last pair of Battuta 1.0 pants. My gauntlets were a pair of Cryptid 4.6D's which I found to be incredibly comfortable (I remembered that Cryptid Armourium built solar-powered heating systems and knuckle massagers into each pair of Gauntlets, and Ghost had informed me that the company had kept the tradition of doing so after the collapse). My looted Fallen cloak remained exactly as it had been. I did take Ghost's advice and put some of the nano-doped cleaner he suggested onto the stains that had accumulated on the material. As I watched, the cloak's various stains and dirt patches simple melted off. This happened as the formula of passive nanotech and waterless cleaners that made up the _GibOff_ cleaner reacted to the various compounds and materials that composed the muck, causing the unwanted soil, alien blood and Ether to disintegrate into component atoms. I held up a dry and completely clean cloak for Ghost to examine.

"Nice job Ace," he said jokingly. "But I think you missed a spot. Anyway, we need to get to the Observatory. Remember: stay cool."

I grinned as he disappeared into his interdimensional pocket to wait. I walked out of the apartment, the door shutting and locking behind me. I walked out of the apartment units, and headed for the tunnel that Amanda had mentioned. As I did, I was relieved to hear the tower announcement system calmly congratulating the two fireteams (apparently called Fireteam Javelin and Fireteam Spearhead) who had participated in the mission to stop the Fallen Raiding party. I had worried about the guardians on that mission, as there are few enough Guardians and not many others who live as long (or short) as we do. The Traveller's light apparently is responsible for this, as it produces a side effect of loyalty for ones team and for those other servants of the Last City. This is to ensure that as few Guardians as possible defect to the darkness, the exceptions (at least those I had discovered while talking with Cayde during the Halloween festival the previous day) being Dregden Yor and Osiris. Dregden Yor had apparently been corrupted by his gun Thorn (which he had infused with cursed Hive bones) and Osiris had gone mad after researching the race of robots known as the Vex, before nearly destroying the Vanguard and disappearing from recorded history.

As I walked out of the tunnel and into the other section of the city, I immediately saw the observatory. I walked across the bridge and entered the massive chamber. In the centre of the room was a massive glass lens mounted on a rotating bracket. That must be the 'telescope' Amanda mentioned. Beneath the lens, a massive pit surrounded by a guard rail housed a glowing circle that pulsed as the lens twisted and adjusted. Out of the window in front, the Traveller proudly hovered in the night sky, solemnly and silently guarding the city below.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The soft, melodic voice came from a small study area atop a platform to my side. Standing up on the platform was a tall, slender man wearing white robes and a full-face mask. His face mask was without any facial features, instead featuring inset lines that curved around the face. He seemed to have a almost serene aura around him, as he descended the steps to stand next to me, his mask tilted towards the traveller above.

"Nobody today knows why the Traveller really came to us. Some say that it was to escape the Darkness. Others say that it was looking for a people to subjugate. But I believe differently."

The Speaker tilted his head to stare at me. "While this city is protected by the last known act of the Traveller, an act that was essentially selfish and ensured the current survival of Humanity, there are things that lurk out there beyond it's protection. I have never ventured beyond the city. For I am not one of you. But I am the person who interprets what the Traveller desires. What it desires is for our race to survive."

The Speaker walked back up the stairs, and stood at a console that rose from the ground seemingly on it's own accord. He manipulated some controls, and the lenses shifted. The Traveller's surface suddenly leapt out as a detailed holographic representation. A chunk was missing from the surface.

"Long ago, during the battle where the Traveller sacrificed itself, weapons of unimaginable power were unleashed by the Darkness, in a attempt to destroy the Traveller. Many of the weapons successfully managed to damage the Traveller. What exactly they did to it are unknown. But they were responsible for it's comatose state, one that has lasted for nearly 500 years."

He turned away, and walked hallway down the stairs as the console slid back into the floor. The Speaker leaned on the railing, and stared at the hologram.

"Many of the things we know were lost to science. But one universal, unchangeable law is not among the knowledge lost: matter and energy cannot be created, nor destroyed. No matter what the power of the weapons that were unleashed upon the Guardian of Guardians, the 'flesh' of the Traveller still exists. Those who would wish humanity to fall have come into possession of such a piece. While the Darkness may be absent, the minions that serve it still retain control of those lands which we lost to the Collapse. Those fragments fell on such lands"

The Speaker turned to face me. "You must go to the moon, where you will find the race known as the Hive. Eris Morn, Bane of Crota will assist you in your endeavours there. I have uncovered evidence that the Hive are preparing to weaken the Traveller beyond what has already been done. As a Guardian- a servant of Humanity, and a Solider of the Light- you must stop them before it is too late."

The softly spoken man walked down to the bottom step and relaxed his posture slightly. He spoke once more. "You may be wondering about my view on why the Traveller came to us. While some see the Traveller as a refugee much like those who fled here during the collapse, and others see the Traveller as a conqueror much like the enemy we fight daily, I have a different perspective. Every person, every object, every unifying concept in the universe has a destiny to fulfil. Humanity is quite simular. I do not see the Traveller as a Refugee. I do not see it as a Ruler. I do not even view it as a god, or a simular deity. It is simply the herald of humanity's shared destiny. Which is why we must continue to follow it's desires."

With that, the slender figure gracefully walked back up the stairs, leaving me with my own thoughts. I looked back at the massive orb that was the Traveller, and left the Observatory. I needed to go see Cayde.

 _Author's note: Well, this is the longest chapter yet, and things are going swimmingly. As a bit of a side note, it turns out that TV writers have a sense of humour that carries over into practical jokes. Last week I emailed Red Dwarf creator Doug Naylor to ask about the early years of the mining ship Red Dwarf because was writing a fanfic about those years. Unfortunately, he emailed back hinting that they were working on a prequel series. I fell for this (in hindsight) obvious practical joke, and announced on my profile that I was stopping work on my fanfic. Somehow, this got back to Mr Naylor, and he sent another email apologising for his practical joke. So now the Red Dwarf fanfic is back on track._

 _In other news, I'd like to thank all those people who have taken the time to review my story. It really helps to have you aiding my writing and I'd like to say that everyone who has given that vital feedback is a Big Damm Hero. Clap yourself on the back, guys/gals!_

 _That's all for now! Crazy Minh signing off!_


	9. Chapter 9: That's One Small Step for Ace

"Cayde?"

The gangly Exo turned around from the map table he stood in front of, and grinned. I grimaced, causing his expression to fall flat.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Kiddo?" he asked cautiously, glancing suspiciously at Arthur (who was standing at a console at the other side of the room performing what looked to be a video call with a fireteam in the field). "There something on my face?"

I shifted from one foot to another, trying to say it in a way that wouldn't A: offend my Dad, and B: Offend my superior officer, and commander. I decided to just say it, regardless of the consequences:

"Yes, Someone's put lipstick on your teeth. It's kinda disturbing."

Cayde frantically patted his metal jaw, realised that he (in fact) did not have teeth. Through quick deduction (I assume), he rapidly realised that I had been stringing him along, and that he did not have any such substance on his face. His face transitioned from overexaggerated outrage (exaggeration of expressions was really the only way Exo could display emotions, as I had discovered from talking with Cayde and other Exo in the Tower), to cold fury, to mild amusement, before doing a double take and running back to outrage. Once his expression settled on outrage, it decided to take some of the stress off, and add a touch of humour to the recipe. I watched bemused as his face rapidly spasmed between various expressions, before Cayde stilled his face.

"Well. I would laugh, but I'm slightly miffed. You…wanted to talk about something else that ISN'T a practical joke?"

I nodded. "The speaker has sent me to the moon. Apparently the Darkness has captured a fragment of the Traveller, and might be using it to damage the entity. I just wanted to say…that I'm glad I found you after so long."

Cayde made a choking sound, followed by a sniff. I realised he was trying to cry, but was hindered by his lack of tear ducts. I walked over, and hugged him. He gripped me tight, something that I probably wouldn't have survived if it weren't for my enhanced durability as a guardian. We separated after some time, when Ghost appeared to tell me that my ship was ready for departure. I walked back out, and climbed into my cockpit. Ghost appeared, and looked at me quizzically, his blocks clicking and whirring around him.

"Ace…are you sure that this is the way you want to go? There's other stuff that could be done on Earth at this time that could also…"

"Ghost," I said sternly. "While I appreciate your concern, what matters now is not my own safety. What matters is the safety of the last humans, and that of our injured protector. If the traveller was willing to lay down it's life, so must I. In any case, how bad can the moon be?"

 _Thirty minutes later, the Moon…_

"THIS IS PRETTY BAD, GHOST!" I yelled. I was huddled behind a pile of sealed cargo crates in the ruins of a golden-age moonbase. On the other side, separated by about three meters of dusty grey moonrock were around twenty dregs, ten vandals and two of the massive commander Fallen. All of ten were firing a barrage of plasma fire into the crates- crates that were quickly being chewed apart by the barrage of destructive fire. I dove behind a intact section of a domed building just as the crates exploded into fragments of metal and plastic. I returned fire, my Imago Loop blowing the heads of three Dregs apart in quick succession. The enemy returned fire, making me duck behind the cracked eggshell-white exterior of the building I cowered behind. Taking a deep breath, I assessed my situation. I was down to three rounds in my shotgun, and my Imago Loop had only ten shots left before running out completely. My rocket launcher had two rockets in it, but had been damaged and was providing a error message when the trigger was pulled. My light had not fully regenerated my single solar grenade, and my knife was missing, yet to be recreated. As for my golden gun…I had it, but I hadn't had a chance to use it yet. I needed a opening. Suddenly, a thought came to me. I pulled out my rocket launcher, and removed the ammunition magazine. Pulling out my other knife (I had purchased it as a backup melee weapon that I could use when my main knife hadn't fully recharged), I pried open the sealed container, and pulled out the two missiles inside. Hoping my plan would work, I tossed each of the grenades in the direction of the two groups of enemies, while firing my shotgun over their heads. Thankfully, the enemies ducked the shells from my shotgun, but failed to notice the rockets. Pulling out my Imago Loop, I fired a shot at each of the rockets. With a noticeable bang, each exploded, sending a plume of dust into the air. While the moon had been previously terraformed during the golden age and provided with a breathable atmosphere, the air was still quite thin, resulting in the dust staying aloft for shorter than than usual. While this meant that my desired effect of a smokescreen was ineffective, it still surprised the fallen long enough for me to duck out from cover and begin my attack. I now only had my Imago Loop, and only eight rounds left. I began by firing off two rounds into the head of one of the commanders, followed by a stab with my knife. This bought his shields down enough for me to then kick him backwards with my boot, and shoot him again with my remaining rounds to finish him off. I quickly scooped up a ammunition engram for my primary weapon, and proceeded to reload my weapon, which now had twenty rounds, good for two full reloads. I proceeded to fire off one round for each of the remaining six Dregs, aiming for the head each time. I hit most of them, but spend two rounds killing another one, bringing my ammo down to twelve rounds. With my grenade now recharged, I jumped towards a nearby wall, the lower gravity allowing me to glide through the air, before kicking off and leaping towards the last commander. I slammed into him, tackling him to the ground. I attached my grenade to his chest, before kicking off him, backflipping and twisting in mid air to face the other way, and landing as the grenade went off. The blast was far enough away that it did minimal damage to my shields, but the vandals nearby were not as lucky. They were sent flying, their bodies limp, before gracefully crumpling to the ground, sending up small clouds of dust into the artificial atmosphere of the moon. I then pulled my golden gun to finish off the remaining six Vandals. My rounds exploded in-between the aliens, killing two of the aliens each time. With all my targets down, I spun the golden gun around my finger, before dispelling it into nothingness.

"Good shooting Tex!" quipped Ghost. "Now, let's get back on mission. We have a lot of ground to cover. While you were…preoccupied with the house guests…I managed to repair the local transmat station. We're good to summon a sparrow and get to the target coordinates."

"Thanks Ghost. Oh, and please: no backseat sparrow driving!"

 _"Bleep!_ "

I flew the sparrow through the cratered expanse that was the Moon's surface, passing countless ruins along the way. When I was little, the Moon had been colonised by humans for nearly a century. The Traveller had been responsible for the terraforming of the satellite, and the moon had become a important research outpost, as well as a training ground for planned exosolar missions. Back then, humans had such high hopes for our mutual destiny. We thought we'd be out among the stars. My brief visit to the libraries of the Tower had told me that the leaders of Earth had known otherwise. Back then, the Traveller had been active, even talking to humans via a form of telepathy. From what out limited records of the time told us, the sphere had told select members of Earth's leadership about the threat that it had been fleeing from. It didn't specify the details, but the politicians and governments of Earth decided that if the people knew, it could wreck any chance that Humanity had against the darkness. So, they prepared. They hid their defences in plain sight of the public, creating the Warminds as a defence for the entire solar system. They build stockpiles of weapons, armour and equipment all over the planet. They prepared for massive space battles. All that, and only enough people to barely fill a small city survived. Over time, we have built our numbers. But we are only a fraction of what once was.

"Ghost?" I queried. "Are you there?"

"Always, Ace. What do you need?" replied the small machine.

"Do you know why the Traveller created you and the Ghosts? Other than to assist the Guardians?"

"Ace…all I know is that I was born from the Traveller's light, and bonded to your soul. As I've said, all I knew was that you were the right person for me, even though I had never met or seen you. I didn't exist until the final day of the War, and even then, that was a long time ago. I've forgotten a lot of my early existence, and the Traveller's motives are among that knowledge. It is rather unusual for you to have almost full recollection of your past life. Many guardians spend years gathering small fragments. I would hazard a guess that your soul, your very being, contained a much larger portion of your being than others would."

"So you're saying I have lots of Soul. Well, that's nice. I always wanted a nice new pair of boots. Some soles will help with making them."

"…I have no words for this. Just keep driving."

Eventually, we reached a crater, where a group of hive lingered around. I rappelled down silently, using mid-air jumps to safely descend into the hole. At the bottom, large monolithic stones sprouted from the ground like the teeth of some prehistoric animal. I took cover behind one as a large hulking alien moved past. The rank scent of rot and death filled my nasal receptors before my helmet sealed off the scent from the outside. Just as the alien rounded the corner, I put my pistol under it's chin, and blew it's brains out of the top of it's head.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

The other hive were now alerted to my presence, and came rushing to the spot where I had previously been. All they found was a active solar grenade, and a sign saying:

 _"Smoke me a kipper: I'll be back for breakfast"_

I laughed as the perplexed aliens were blasted into nothingness. I jumped off the top of a nearby stone, and walked over to a massive door set into the crater wall. It was made from a blackish green stone, and inset with glowing green slits. I looked up at the door, built for a being almost four times my height. I let ghost scan the sealed portal, and stood back. Just then, a stone plinked off the wall of the crater. When I looked up, a female Exo looked back.

 ** _Author's note: Well, I finally managed to type up this chapter. Thanks to everyone who has given such positive feedback so far. I'm sorry this story hasn't been updated for a few months: I've had terrible writers block, and I've been busy IRL with other things. A few things here as some administrative things: I'm breaking my hiatus as I have had some time openings to work on my fanfiction lately. I'll be updating semi-regularly for now. This may increase in due time. Secondly, when I said I was going to redo Depths of the Night -my SubNautica fanfiction- I was slightly unprepared for the amount of work I had to do IRL at the time, and as such that project is on pause until I can fully untangle the rewrite. Thirdly: Thanks to everyone who has followed me while I've been mostly inactive. I can't list the names right now, but there is plenty of people to thank. You can get a mostly-complete list (still have to add the latest person) on my Fanfiction profile. Again, thanks guys, and I'll see you in chapter ten of Outbound Hopes._**


	10. Chapter 10: Welcome, Wizard Overlords

I stared at the strange figure perched upon the rocks looking down at me. She was slender, and clad in a tattered grey cloak. A strange-looking pulse rifle was holstered on her back. She grinned wolfishly from underneath her hood, and waved. Before I could do anything, a sudden whir sounded from the massive door. Sigils on the portal began to glow and come to life. Lights glowed round the edges, and horrific cries could be heard from behind the gate. Ghost bleeped warily.

"Ace…we may want to move back…now…"

I nodded, and slowly backed away, pulling my hand cannon from my back and reloading the weapon. I quickly glanced towards the point where I had seen the mysterious Exo. She was gone. The chains binding the door flashed and disappeared with loud clanks. Then, the door crashed open and a hoard of hive spilled out, their grey skin blending together to form a indistinguishable tide of enemies. I began firing my gun as fast as I could, taking down each of the enemies as they approached. Overwhelmed, I pulled my fusion rifle, and began disintegrating Hive as they got close. I jumped on top of a pillar, and kept firing into the hoard, their bodies piling up around the post. Eventually, I ran out of ammo and started stabbing the hive in the face with my knife. It seemed like the fight took forever, during which I killed what looked like fifty to sixty odd hive. However, the hive stopped coming eventually, letting me catch my breath while leaning against a rocky outcrop. Ghost appeared, and gave me a look I interpreted as a frown.

"Guardian…you don't need to breath so heavily. Your enhanced lungs can intake air far more efficiently than…"

"Ghost…" I wheezed, my throat raw and jagged. "…It's…more….of…a habit….than anything. I'll be OK…in a moment."

Ghost made a hiccup-like bleep. "…you Guardians and your little quirks. No wonder we're here to look out for you: you'd be lost without us Ghosts!"

I glared at the small machine, upholstering my hand cannon as I did so. "One more word Ghost, and you'll be the one with some quirks. Namely some Structural quirks!"

Ghost sighed and disappeared into his dimensional pocket. I grabbed some ammunition engrams off the floor, and reloaded my weapon. I then walked into the temple, ready for what lay ahead. I didn't take much time to adjust to the light inside the temple. Or rather, the lack of it. Compared to the brightly lit and shadowed moon outside (whatever technology that had given the moon a atmosphere has apparently kept it looking just as airless and therefore just as bright as it had been for centuries), the interior of the 'temple' was dark, and lit only by glowing patches of green fungi and the occasional torch. This lit the interior with a dim green glow, which both made the atmosphere feel even more malevolent, while also aiding the poor eyesight of the horrors that lay inside. If I had been a normal human, I would have adjusted to the new lighting conditions far too slow to see the bolt of energy whizzing towards me. Fortunately, my revived form had significant improvements over my original body, including the said eyesight adaptations. The feature that saved me however was not my eyes in this case, but my enhanced reflexes. These allowed me to leap out of the way just in time, the bolt of energy smashing a pillar behind me to splinters.

"What the hell was that?" I exclaimed, looking in the direction where the energy had came from. I gasped. Flying in mid-air above a altar at the back of the atrium was a spectre. It was vaguely feminine, and had a X-shaped head with glowing red slits for eyes. It appeared to have no legs, it's lower body simply being a series of petal-shaped flaps that were fashioned into a horrific mockery of either a ceremonial robe or a dress. It had two clawed fingers and a hooked thumb on each hand, each cracking with green discharge. A series of spikes, looking like they were made of bone, jutted out like a collar from the back of it's neck and shoulders. It floated in mid-air, and hissed. Unlike the horrific roars of the menial hive creatures, this was a hiss of hatred. Of the desire to kill. Of pain and death. I readied my hand cannon, and charged in.

The creature flung a few more bolts at me, all the while calling in reinforcements, who appeared from hidden burrows and bolt holes within the walls. I fought them off as best as I could, but they were without number, and almost voracious in their hunger for my death. They were coming out of the woodwork as it was. All the while, the creature (or 'Wizard' as I had decided to dub it) flew round the ceiling, dodging my fire with quick, evasive movements, and flinging bolts of orange energy down upon me. When the bolts connected, they almost always depleted my shields. However, I had learned my lesson from my battles against the Fallen on Earth, and when my shields got low, I would always disengage from the hoard hoping to pin my down beneath their grey, soulless bodies. After a while, the hoard was gone. The wizard desperately called for more minions, but none came.

"Run out of cannon fodder for the grinder, eh?" I said to the floating apparition. My only response was a guttural hiss.

"I don't think that was a compliment," said Ghost. "I ran that through the translator…you don't want to know what it just said."

I stared up at the creature, and raised my gun. It began to back away, and would have started weaving, if I hadn't layed down a entire clip of ammunition into it. The last of the creature's shields was dissipated with the first three shots, and the next five punctured it in all the vital places I could think off. The creature may have had a exoskeleton…but not much can stand up to projectiles the size of wine corks fired from a hand cannon with a gauss system inside the barrel. The creature disintegrated into ashes. A single orange engram dropped to the ground with a plonk. I picked it up, and summoned ghost.

"Ghost, what should we do now? Our initial mission was to open up the way through here, but I'm pretty sure that the Vanguard will want to see the data on these new Hive varieties. I'm asking your honest opinion buddy."

Ghost bleeped a bit. "While the Traveller is a important mission element, I'm not sure we'll be able to get to it by myself. Now we're inside the temple, I can pick up the signature coming from the fragment….as well as over two million Hive lifeform signatures. There's so many here, and you're really only here for initial reconnaissance. We'll check in with the Vanguard, and try and get a force together for a raid. Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

 _Author's Note: So, short chapter for this week Ladies and Gentleman! I've been busy lately, so sorry about the lack of updates again. This will kinda continue for a while, so don't get your hopes up about more regular updates. It does take time and effort to produce quality writing…and I say that in the loosest sense possible. In other news, I'm thinking about opening a account on fictionpress, so that I can release some of my original stories I've been working on. Also, I'd like to make a quick request for my readers in the European Union._

 _Yesterday, Article 11 and 13 of the new Internet Copyright laws were voted in by a council of the European union. These articles allow the EU to do two things. First is to sell payed licenses for people to put hyperlinks on social media and other places to sites such as news sites. This is basically hyperlink tax. Second is the removal of fair use, which is predicted to kill off meme culture, creative use of copyrighted material (such as remixes, parodies, criticisms and abridged media on YouTube) and also impose restrictive laws on 'piracy', which in the wrong hands could be used to supress certain political viewpoints, and therefore deny people the freedom to share their ideas and opinions with others._

 _I've grown up in a world where the internet has been a integral part of everyday life. The majority of the politicians responsible for this have not, and see the internet as a disruptive element. If these laws pass through the EU parliament and become law, places such as Fanfiction will disappear or be blocked in Europe as companies enforce what they see as their sole property, and fair use of their material in stories like this will become illegal._

 _So for this site, for yourselves, and for the good of the internet, please: speak up. Call your local political representative. Sign petitions. If you can, protest these changes to internet law. Calls and petitions take up very little time, and it is not a legal requirement to donate if you sight a petition. This is a moment where if we do nothing, then at some point in the future, we'll wake up, go online, and realise our mistake. It's out internet people. Let's save it._


	11. Chapter 11: Preparation Part 1

I piloted the jumpship through the clear skies, my attention wandering to other things. I hadn't really had a chance to think through the happenings of the last few weeks since my resurrection, or the implications of my new life. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a spiritual issue. I'd never been a religious individual. Since the Traveller arrived on Mars 500 years ago, and made contact with the international team of astronauts sent to investigate it's appearance, religion had become mainly sidelined in everyday life. People still believed in God: they just were fewer in number, and mainly forgotten about in favour of the new cults that had sprung up worshipping the Traveller. I wasn't thinking about 'my immortal soul' or any of that crap. It was more along the lines of the reason for my resurrection, and the unusually large amount of recollections I had of my past life. I could remember far more than I should, and in almost perfect clarity. Hell, I could remember things that I'd forgotten about years before my death. However, I found my memory was fuzzy in places.

I had talked to a few Guardians while at the tower. Many didn't recall a single thing about their past lives. A few had vague memories, and even fewer could recall even 50% of their past lives. But I could remember a lot. I remembered my Dad, going off to war when I was five. I remember him coming back on leave when I was seven, two years later. I remember the video calls he made, detailing how the peacekeeping operations in whatever place he was in were making him miss his family. I remember Christmas, albeit more faintly. I remember my dad telling me he'd be back, as the men from Clovis Bray came to take him away. But the thing is that all my memories either were from my final months before my first death, or ones involving my Dad. I began wondering whether it was pure coincidence…or if the Traveller had reunited me and my father deliberately.

"Ace…you seem troubled. What's up?"

Ghost hovered over my shoulder, his lights burning a light green instead of their normal blue. I nudged him and he drifted away before flying back, his lights switching to a dull yellow.

"Don't do that," the small machine admonished. "It's embarrassing."

"You can get embarrassed?" I asked, attempting to divert the previous question. "So you have human emotions?"

"Sort of," replied the machine. "More like I have some impressions of them that were imprinted when I bonded with you. I can also tell when you're diverting my questions, so just tell me what's wrong."

"Ghost…I just don't know what to do. I mean, I've been resurrected by a mystical alien intelligence to fight alien invaders, I've been dead for hundreds of years, and I'm probably not even entirely human anymore. I've got a Exo that has the mind of my dead father as my boss, I've been given a mission to save the last of the human race, and all this has happened in the space of a few weeks. Honestly? I'm pretty sure that I should be feeling more overwhelmed than I already am, but I can't seem to find the time to do so. So, you tell me what's wrong. Go on."

Ghost spun a little, and then answered. "Ace, you're having a metaphysical crisis."

"Oh, thanks Dr. Freud."

"No, it's perfectly normal for someone in your position. You've been awakened more than 500 years after you died, you're now a defender of humanity, and you've got no idea what you've been forced into. I've heard about plenty of cases of this while I was looking for you. You wouldn't believe what some other Ghosts have experienced in their travels..."

"Ghost, focus."

"Sorry. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that you're feeling exactly how someone in your situation would feel like. I wouldn't _exactly_ know, being a floating eyeball, but anyway…"

Ghost paused, then clicked a bit.

"Ace…have you ever considered visiting your home?"

I started at that comment, accidentally switching the jumpship's airbrakes online. I was thrown forward in my seat, and the craft went into a steep dive. I rapidly deactivated the control surfaces, switched them back on in their normal positions, and throttled up the engines. At the same time, I pulled back on the joystick, and pulled the nose of the craft upwards until I levelled out. Hastily setting the autopilot coordinates to the Tower, and activating the navigational computer, I turned to admonish Ghost.

"Ghost, seriously. Stop. This is the second bloody time I've nearly crashed because of a statement from you that caused me to lose focus. No one likes backseat driving, and no one likes being thrown fastballs when piloting a bloody spacecraft…."

Ghost waited until I was done ranting, and then spoke. "…you sure it isn't that you're just not a very good pilot?"

He quickly disappeared back into his dimensional pocket as a pair of fuzzy Ghosts were chucked at him half-heartedly. I sat for a while thinking.

 _…Does my home even still exist?_

I thought back to the days before my stationing at the Cosmodrome. It was soon after my graduation from uni. I had just enrolled in the military and completed basic training. I was enjoying some leave while waiting for my orders to be issued. Things were going great. The civil war raging in the African Sahara was quieting down, with the newly formed provisionary government beginning to restore civil order for the first time in nearly a century of conflict. The fiftieth anniversary of the colonisation of Venus was in full swing across the solar system. A generation ship designed for extrasolar flight was just passing Jupiter, ready for a gravity-assisted burn manoeuvre that would put it on a trajectory out of the solar system. The Traveller had voiced doubts about the flight, even going as far as to warn off the government about the venture.

 _If only they had listened…_

I remembered that the first warnings that the alien fleet was entering the solar system was when the generation ship that had been humanity's first attempt at leaving the sphere of influence belonging to our sun was confirmed destroyed. Then, the fleet of warships sent to investigate were lost. Then contact was lost with Europa Station. Then we lost the asteroid belt stations, and the fleets hastily scrambled to defend them. Then Mars went dark, followed by Midway Station, and then the lunar colonies. Finally, they struck Earth. It happened too fast for significant preparations to be made. The attack that claimed all the other colonies beyond Earth happened within days of the initial contact. Mars took the longest to fall, but there wasn't enough time after that to prepare more than a rudimentary defence. The warmind Rasputin wasn't responding to input, locked into a diagnostic cycle that froze up all of the orbital defences. On the ground, I didn't know what was going on. The military commanders in charge of the Cosmodrome had ordered us to full alert, but they hadn't disseminated any of the information about the threat. For all I know, they were just as confused as us. Then, the troops landed. This is where my memory becomes fuzzy. I remember dark shapes, billowing smoke, burning flames. I remember the crackle of energy weapons and the chatter of automatic rifles. I remember the Cosmodrome alarm blaring out futilely as we lost sector after sector to the threat. I don't know whether it was Hive, Fallen or god knows what else, but they hit us hard, and they definitely killed me. I remember nothing of my death, other than the fact that it was painful, but thankfully quick.

…I never considered trying to find my old house after my death. Hell, I haven't thought much about what happened back then till now. It has only been around a week and a half since I woke up, and I had barely combed through my memories about that day. The jumpship banked suddenly, and shook as the craft passed right into a storm front.

"Shit!"

Ghost appeared beside me. "Something wrong?"

I nursed my shoulder, which had hit the casing of the starboard control panel rather hard. My shields were aimed towards stopping life-threatening injuries. Hitting a shoulder on a control panel was not one of them.

"I'm fine Ghost. Just a little turbulence."

The jumpship dropped out of the clouds into the middle of a torrential rainstorm. Up ahead, the lights of the last city came into view, shining out of the darkness like a beacon. My jumpship's radio came to life, crackling slightly with interference.

"Guardian Ace, this is Tower Control. Once your jumpship has landed, report to the Vanguard immediately to deliver your report. Be advised that automatic guidance for landing is currently down due to damage from the storm to the antenna array."

"Rodger that Tower Control," I replied, flipping off the autopilot and grasping the controls once again. "Please inform the Vanguard that I will be with them shortly."

I turned to Ghost. "Let's hope we get down safely. This storm doesn't look like it's going to make it any easier to land, especially not manually."

Ghost sighed. "Revival on standby. Try not to wreck the jumpship. We don't exactly have a spare…"

I patted Ghost on the head, and turned back to the controls. The wind was blowing fiercely, but thankfully it was moving to my tail for the moment. Unfortunately, this was increasing my velocity a bit too much. I eased off on the thrusters, lining up with the hangar bay entrance. Pulling back on the yoke, I thrusted downwards, watching my trim as I did. After a bit of struggling with alternating wind speeds and directions, I managed to bring my craft to a stop yes inside the hangar. As the landing crews hurried to get my craft stowed away so that other craft could land, I jumped from the cockpit, and hurried to get to the control room. This would be a interesting meeting….

"…and thus, this matter requires immediate attention," I finished, having given my report to the vanguard. Ghost was hovering over my shoulder, displaying the data we had collected on the map table. Zavala leant over the map, looking troubled.

"So you definitely encountered a new variety of Hive?"

I nodded. "We decided to dub them 'Wizards', due to their abilities. They are quite strong, and appear to hold a position of rank among the Hive. The Wizard we encountered was in charge of a large number of minor Hive creatures."

"…I see. As for the fragment of the Traveller?"

I shook my head. "We detected a large number of targets inbetween the entrance to the tunnels and the Fragment. Assaulting enemy territory on our own would be suicide, especially considering that we were almost out of ammo, and only equipped for scouting operations. We would like to request a strike team be assembled to head after the Fragment."

Zavala turned to the other two Vanguard. "Cayde? Ikora?"

Cayde shrugged. "I hate to say it, but we Hunters aren't exactly the best equipped for assaulting fortified enemy locales. We may be short on resources, but if the Kid says that it's urgent, I'm going to say that it's urgent."

Ikora looked dubious. "We don't know for sure that the Traveller itself would be affected by the alteration or destruction of the fragment. I think we should…"

"…If you are saying that you should not devote all that is possible to this venture, then you are a fool Ikora!"

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to the door. Eris Morn stood in the doorway, staring down at the Vanguard. She walked forward into the room, and loomed over the four of us, her glowing rock clutched in one hand.

"The Hive are servants of the Darkness who have been granted much power by it. They are ancient, and they are thirsty to consume the light of the Traveller. If we do not stop them from corrupting what you erroneously call a 'Fragment', then we shall all die. Nothing is more important in this moment than the halting of these events. You may defend this city all you want. But the Darkness will still come one day, and we are not prepared for it now. If we do not act, the Traveller will fall, and we will be facing our greatest enemy long before it is due at our doorstep. Be a fool all you want, but do not blame me when you are squeezing out your last, haggard breath as the Hive burn this city to ash."

Eris spat on the ground, and stalked out of the room. There was silence, and the room remained still. Then, Cayde spoke up.

"Well, I think we know what we're doin' now. Kid, get ready. You're going to the moon, and we're sending you some help. Let's save the world, and look awesome while doing it."

 _Author's note: Well, that was chapter 11. Sorry everyone for taking so long to update. I've been busy, and I haven't had much time to write. I'm going to be going silent for a bit longer, so hold on till chapter 12. Let's hope the Assault on the Moon goes well!_


	12. Chapter 12: Preparation Part 2

The storm was beginning to ease up as I stepped out of the Vanguard chambers. I walked over to Master Rahool.

"Ah, Ace," he said warmly. "Is this a social call, or a business one?"

"Business, Master Rahool."

He nodded. "I suspected as much. What can I do for you? Decoding? Deciphering? A history lesson perhaps?"

I chuckled. "I need to decode this engram. Looks like a good one."

With that, I tossed him the golden-yellow orb that I had picked up on the moon. He inspected it carefully, humming a tune that I didn't recognise. It sounded vaguely like He then placed in on a circular machine, and the engram disappeared. In it's place was a silver-grey helmet, with a sleek, curved appearance.

"Ah, the Celestial Nighthawk. This is a very rare find, Ace. Would you perhaps be interested in swapping it for one of these…"

He paused suddenly, his face turning pale. I turned around to find Cayde standing there. He smiled at me and then said one thing to Rahool.

"Doorknobs,"

Rahool hurriedly handed the helmet to me and busied himself with "his accounts for the year". Cayde walked towards the hangar, gesturing for me to follow. I followed him into the corridor connecting to the hangar itself, both of us stopping beside a stack of crates. He sat on one of the large containers, and patted the spot beside him. I hopped up, curious.

"Ace…was I ever a good father?"

I started. "Of course! Why would you say…oh. Your memory wipes…"

He nodded. "Whenever Exo get reset, we lose our experiences up till that point. The Clovis Bray guys must have intended it as a literal 'reset to factory default' button. It doesn't wipe everything mind you. We keep our motor skills, language skills, everything that allows us to essentially be…well…people. But it leaves our memories in tatters. Imagine…imagine a photo. You keep it in a frame on a shelf. But then, BAM! You knock it off, and it falls onto a knife…"

I frown. "Where did the knife in this metaphor come from?"

Cayde shushed me. "Be quiet. Anyway, the knife tears up the photo something bad. Just like if you dropped it into one of those shredder things. Then, a wind blows the photo to the wind, leaving you with just a tattered strip of a photo."

He paused as three tower personnel walked past, saluting as they passed. Cayde saluted back, and then waited for them to walk around the corner before continuing. He seemed diminished now, almost like his usual sarcastic humour was being held back in some way.

"I managed to keep a shred of my memory each of the six times I was reset. Three were before the Collapse, while I was simply a tool for the military to use. Once was done by some fellow Guardians when I was damaged in battle, and would've died otherwise. The other two I apparently did to myself, either due to despair, or possibly due to a painful memory that I thankfully don't recall anymore…If it was ever a thing at all."

Cayde looked right at me. "That shred was a name: Ace. It was the only thing that I knew at first, after waking up. I knew vaguely that you were important to me. I didn't know who you were, I just knew you were important."

He sighed. "For the best part of twenty years, I took every opportunity to scour the world for any trace of my old life, and to find out who you were. I found evidence that you were my child. I don't recall what the evidence was, but it's in my journal:"

He pulled out a thick pocket journal from a belt pouch. The book was old, with yellowed pages, and looked as if it had been 'upgraded' with extra pages over the years (judging from the fact that there were pages that were at least a inch larger than the paper in the first half of the notebook near the back). It was bound in grey leather, and was badly scuffed and worn. The cover was embossed with a simple 'Ace of Spades' symbol, and had obviously detached from the spine and rear cover at some point. I admired how someone (probably Cayde's Ghost) had affixed the damaged cover to the front with a pair of delicate spinmetal hinges that were attached to the spine with some kind of solder. I decided to ask Cayde about it at another time.

"This journal," said Cayde solemnly. "Is how I kept track of all my memories involving you. It was initially a record book, where I jotted down some of those random thoughts that came my way. Y'know, stuff like 'Who is Ace?', 'Why are they so important to me?', and 'Where can I get a decent gelato in the Last City?'."

I snorted at the last 'thought', and rolled my eyes. "Just like you to be thinking about ice-cream over your only child!"

Cayde laughed, and seemed to regain some of his old spirit in that moment. It was gone again when he spoke next. "I eventually started writing letters to you. This book, it has thousands of letters from addressed to you. It's been through the wars…but so have I. Now, I'm giving them to you."

He handed the book to me, his metal fingers leaving a few additional scuffs on the cover as his fingers scraped off the leather. "You don't have to read it if you don't want. But…I'd appreciate you doing it son."

I smiled. "Thanks…Dad."

I walked into the hangar, carrying the notebook in a belt pouch. I was newly garbed in a suit of Rusburner 1.5 armour, with the gloves replaced with a pair of Raku Vindicator gauntlets I had purchased off the tower armourwright. I wore my new helmet proudly, the surface dulled to a matt grey, and painted with a two-tone camouflage suited for the moon's surface. The paintjob had been replicated across the rest of my armour and equipment, courtesy of my Ghost. Overall, I looked like a badass. Or at least, I looked as badass as I could without sacrificing form for function. The last think Cayde had advised me on before we finished our father-son talk was about good technique for being a Hunter.

"Always make sure your gear is in good shape," he had said. "We hunters spend long spans of time away from the Tower, and thus it's always good to have some field maintenance equipment on hand. In addition, make sure you keep your armour dulled. Reflections are always a bad idea when you're trying to stay hidden. Also, keep your armour toned to the immediate environment you're travelling in. For that matter, ask your Ghost about some digital paint. It's that stuff that you can program the tone of. You know the stuff?"

I had smiled, and laughed a bit. "Yeah, I remember that stuff. You got pissed when I covered your jumpship in the stuff, and programmed it for a bright pink colour. It took weeks to wash it off, and you didn't stop glaring at me for a whole month."

Back in the present, I grinned under my helmet at the memory. I shook my head, and continued walking through the hangar, descending the stairs to the hangar bay proper. Ahead of me was a group of Guardians loitering near my Jumpship. I walked over and cleared my throat.

"So…you're Cayde's son," said one of them, a female Hunter wearing a suit of white/red armour. "Name's Anna Rist. I'm the leader of this motely band."

A hulking character wearing a suit of reflective silver armour spoke up in a Germanic accent. "Ha! This omen bodes well for us! We have the child of the esteemed Vanguard hunter coming along for the ride!"

 _"That's Gem Henkel, one of the top Crucible contestants,"_ Ghost whispered over my commlink. _"He's currently one of the top-choices for the title of the next Crucible Master after Lord Shaxx eventually falls"_

The slender female Hunter next to him punched him in the shoulder, and turned to me. "Sorry about Gem, Ace. He's just a little to _eager_. Name's Rena Solace, I'm Arthur's sister. Or, I was before the collapse. He's said good things about you."

I nodded at the three of them, and turned to the fourth guardian, a male Warlock who had been quiet for the entire time I had been present. "…And this chatty gentleman here is…?"

Anna chuckled. "That's Grim. He's kinda the quiet type, so when he speaks, just don't act all surprised. He gets that a lot."

The warlock cocked his helmet, but didn't bother responding.

"Right, so…we have a gameplan?" I asked nervously, feeling vaguely unsettled by how easily these four Guardians interacted with each other.

"Ha!" cried Gem. "A tactician at heart! Well my small friend, our plan is simply…"

"Attack!" they all cried together, with the exception of Grim. I stepped backwards slightly towards my Jumpship.

"Well…err…I'll do my best to…guide…you…does anyone else feel uncomfortable here?"

The other Guardians chortled slightly, and shook their heads. I turned away muttering to myself.

" _Guess it's just me then."_

 _Author's Note: Well, here's Chapter 12, a lot quicker than the last one! Thanks to all my readers by the way. I got a interesting review the other day about whether I have a plan for this story. I can say that I do, but I won't spoil it for anyone. It's changed slightly, with the release of the new DLC for Destiny 2, but I can say that Cayde's death in the second game will be changed slightly, or even possibly avoided. Right now, I'm kinda undecided on that, but give me a while. Like many, I thought it was kinda sad that they killed off one of the most popular characters in the canon, but meh. I'm not going to make Cayde go out in such a stupid and meaningless way, otherwise I'd have to hang up my hat as a fanfic writer. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has continued to follow this story, and please: read and review more. I'm always looking to improve my work._


	13. Chapter 13: Fly me to the moon

The small squadron of Jumpships that carried me and the accompanying strike force snapped out of hyperspace in orbit of the moon. I was piloting my Arcadia, but the others had a wide variety of jumpships among them. I spotted a Agonarch Karve (a popular premium model before the collapse) with heavy modifications; a CX20 "Slipper Misfit" (one of the 'family-brand' ships marketed to families looking to take a 'roadtrip around the solar system') with very few visible mods other than a few extra fuel tanks bolted beneath the wings; and two Ceres Gallliots (actual military-grade jumpships) painted with the vanguard logo. Altogether, only two of the ships actually had armament, and even then it was rather lacklustre. The others were repurposed civilian vessels, or (in my case) military variants of a civilian model with the weapons stripped out by Amanda for the combat-ready ships back at the Tower.

 _"Look at that…haven't been here before,"_ said Gem over the radio. _"I never thought I'd be this close to the actual moon. Ha! Look at me…reminiscing about fights not fought!"_

Anna spoke up. _"Gem, you do realise that we're going to be the first guardians to step onto the moon in a century…well, other than Ace that is."_

I frowned, and turned to Ghost. "Ghost, is that true?"

Ghost clicked a bit, and then tilted forwards in a nod. "Yes, Ace. The moon has been off-limits since the last time the Guardians tried to control more than the territory around the tower. From my limited records of the time, it appears that over two hundred Guardians attempted to route the Hive and Fallen from the satellite. Only about ten percent of them made it back."

I blinked. "Out of two hundred immortal warriors, only _twenty_ or so made it back to Earth alive?"

Ghost beeped. "I wouldn't say _alive_ …at least for the most part. The attempt was really to try and recover the bodies of Eris Morn's fireteam, who were the first Guardians to go there…only Eris made it back out of them. The moon is not a friendly place for humans…not anymore at least."

I frowned, and concentrated on bringing my craft in. The five ships came in in a tight group, the hulls glinting in the bright lunar environment. We brought our crafts to a hover in the cover of a shadowy crater about a kilometre from our target. Transmatting out, we quickly moved to the secure the area with fluidity. Or at least, the fireteam I was partnered with did the fluid part. I was still struggling to act within their structure.

"Ace, which way to the 'Temple'?" asked Anna.

"About a click to the northeast," I replied. "Near one of the old lunar research facilities. There's Fallen between us and them though. Hang on a moment…Ghost?"

"Yes?" replied my small friend.

"Would you mind bringing up a map?"

"Sure thing, Ace."

With that, Ghost projected a holographic map into the space in front of me. It was highly detailed, with the outlines of abandoned structures and the varying elevations of the land marked out on it. Hell, it even showed a pentagon of five green dots moving off to the west where our Jumpships were heading to orbit to wait for our return. This was all supplemented by the mapping data I had collected on my scouting mission the previous day, which included enemy troop movements, locations of interest, and other such bits of tactical information.

"Alright. The Temple is located here," I said, pointing to the location on the map where the entrance was located. Ghost helpfully provided a glowing red dot to mark the place when I removed my finger. "About 100 meters uphill from the entrance is a fallen encampment. This gully leads to the encampment, but there are regular fallen patrols on their sparrow-analogues. Before then, there's another encampment in this mining facility here. We're currently located about four or five hundred meters to the northwest from the mining facility. Between the facility and the temple is a larger crater which we have no way of scaling, and there's very difficult terrain between the temple and the other side. We're going to have to go through the gully."

Grim cocked his head. When he spoke, his voice sounded like his lungs had been filled with broken glass. "Why can't we fly overhead?" he rasped. "It would be quicker than traversing the distances between."

I sighed. "Because there's a honking great big Fallen air-defence facility located to the south-east. We're lucky that this crater is out of range, because otherwise we'd be toast. _Burned_ toast at that. If you want your talkative ass to be blasted out of the sky, be my guest. Just don't expect me to come retrieve you when you revive."

Anna chuckled, and clapped her hands. "Right people, you know the drill. Grab your sparrows, and mount up. Ace, you lead the way. We're going straight to the temple. Ignore the mining facility. The Fallen know we're coming anyway. Let's move people!"

The others nodded, and mounted up. I quickly transmatted my sparrow and mounted up. I bought up the navigational system, and started the engine. Forming up with the others, I gunned the throttle, and zoomed forwards across the lunar surface, throwing up a small cloud of dust around the thrusters as I did so. I looked back to see the dust elevated in plumes, settling so slow that even after a minute it was still mostly suspended in the lunar atmosphere. I had never quite gotten the reason for the atmosphere. The moon already had a 'dust atmosphere' before it was colonised during the golden age. This was known even as far back as the 20th century. Basic elementary school stuff. My memory on the reasoning for the installation of a 'breathable' atmosphere was shaky: you couldn't actually breath the atmosphere without filters. Lunar dust- unlike earth dust- is extremely jagged. The moon has no air moisture to smooth the particles like Earth after all. As such, the particles were shaped like small caltrops. Breathing it tears up your alveoli and causes sickness. That same dust is suspended in the moon's artificial atmosphere. So, therefore the atmosphere itself unbreathable. Presumably the atmosphere was intended to prolong EVA missions, with the astronauts refilling their main tanks with heavily filtered intake air from the surrounding atmosphere, thus allowing you in a sense to breath the air- just not directly. Ghost had told me all this during one of his worry-wart briefings on the way here. I really needed to inform him about the human concept of 'annoyance' very soon. Otherwise I'd need a new Ghost.

In any case, I didn't have to worry about regolith poisoning. All of us were wearing fully sealed spacesuits, and thus did not have to worry about it. The dust did get all over our suits though, and coated our bikes, boots, weapons…my awesome cape…I swear I felt grit sticking to my skin just thinking about how much cleaning I'd have to do when I got back to the tower.

"When this is over," I said. "I'm taking a long shower, and throwing my armour in the wash. God, this dust gets everywhere."

"You and me both, buddy," laughed Rena. "God, this stuff is just sticking to my cape. It's going to take a full three washing cycles to get this stuff off my armour. Either that or a soak in GibOff."

I snorted. I was about to make a witty reply when I realised that I'd just interacted with my new friends without being entirely awkward. I thought about actually replying, and thought against it. Instead, I coughed and focused my attention on piloting. We eventually glided up to the cover of a rock downhill from the old research centre which we would have to pass through to get to the Hive temple. Anna chopped her hand forwards, and motioned for us to stay stealthy. Gem pulled out a machine gun, and huddled in cover behind the rock we were behind. Taking some initiative, I pulled a mirror from my belt, and peeked it out from behind the rock.

"How many do you see?" whispered Rena.

"Why are you whispering?" said Anna. "The Fallen can't hear us. We're talking via the radio."

"Oh, right," replied the smaller Hunter, chagrined. "Again, how many are there?"

I chuckled before replying. "I see about twelve Dregs…wait, fourteen. All armed with shock pistols. They look like they're scrounging through a pile of rubbish near the main building. There's four Vandals with Wire Rifles on top of one of the raised platforms, and another three with Shrapnel Launchers in the ruined observatory. I see another three stealthed ones carrying shock blades patrolling the eastern crater rim. Oh, wait. I see another one…oh crap."

"That does not sound good my little friend," said Gem, shifting anxiously. "What does the 'oh crap' refer to?"

"There's four Captains with them. And a Kell."

 _Author's note: Happy Halloween people, and Wow! This month has been really productive for me and my writing. By the way, I should have noted earlier that this month marks one year of Outbound Hopes! Shit, it's been a year since I started writing this. Hopefully, I can continue writing this and fleshing out this story. Thanks to all the guests who have reviewed. If you like fanfiction so much, I recommend creating a account here so that you can keep track of your favourites. I'd also prefer it if I knew who was reading and reviewing, so if guests could post a tag to their reviews with a pen name, that'd be great. By the way, Outbound hopes is now the 62_ _nd_ _most favourite and the 56_ _th_ _most followed Destiny fanfic, out of around 1.3 thousand stories. Not the best, but still within the top 100 stories in the category. Great, considering I've only been publishing for about two years now._

 _Thanks to everyone who has stayed with this story since it's conception a year ago, and thanks especially to KnightsKing, who was the very first reviewer, as well as SuperedX, Dekuton, withaM16 and TheHyperDragon, my second through fifth reviewers right back at the start. Happy holidays people, and have a great day!_


	14. Chapter 14: Battle at the Hellmouth

"A Kell? Here?"

I nodded. Kells were the leaders of entire Fallen Houses. They got the largest share of the Ether that the Fallen used in the liu of light, and thus were much larger and more powerful than their smaller underlings.

Anna sounded confused. "But the House of Exiles don't have any Kells!"

I frowned. "Pardon?"

Gem chuckled. "The House of Exiles are the Fallen who control the moon. They're very weak in number compared to the other houses, and tend to be Fallen exiled in disgrace from the other houses. They don't have any Kells, only captains."

I looked again. The captains were decked out with dusty green cloaks. However, the large Kell was wearing a red cloak like mine, except a lot less tattered and worn. He also wore a different emblem, one that I recognised from the Cosmodrome.

"Those captains are from the House of Exiles…But the Kell is from the House of Devils…"

The others all gasped. "Shit. It's Solkis."

I cocked my head. "Solkis?"

Grim shook his head. "Solkis…the leader of the House of Devils: our most dangerous foe on Earth. The Devils are apparently expanding their reach."

"Do we try and kill him?" I asked. "He has no guards, and while the other fallen will be difficult, they have no allegiance to…"

Gem shuddered. "Even such a battle as this is not worth the price. Solkis wears the dead Ghosts of his foes on his belt. He has killed countless Guardians throughout his reign on Earth, and he needs not travel with a bodyguard- for he is the most powerful Fallen Kell on Earth."

I looked back over the rock. Solkis was still talking with the other Fallen. He did indeed have a belt with the dead corpses of Ghosts hanging from it by loops of string. They bounced up and down in the low gravity as he moved. Then, he started walking away, towards the other end of the crater. Over there, a fallen Skiff waited with it's engines running. It had a House of Devils logo painted on the side, and had its boarding ramp down. Solkis walked up to a Fallen standing nearby, and the two continued towards the dropship after a brief conversation. The other Fallen was wearing a pilot-suit of sorts, equipped with a bulbous helmet that made the insectoid alien look vaguely it had the head of a preying mantis- the helmet having bulging domes where the eyes should be that looked like the multifaceted eyes of such a creature, and a pair of spiky antennae moulded into the top of the headpiece.

"Guys, I think Solkis is leaving. He's heading to what seems to be his personal transport."

The other Guardians let out a relived chuckle.

"Good," said Anna. "Now we just need to wait for him to leave, and then deal with the Exiles."

Soon after she said that, Solkis's Skiff lifted up into the air, and rocket off, cloaking itself as it went. A booming sound echoed in the lunar canyon announcing its departure. The Exile Captains watched it go, before turning their backs. They began walking towards a nearby servitor, possibly to receive their daily supplies of Ether from the floating robotic 'eye'.

"Right people, let's move," shouted Anna. "For the Traveller!"

"For the Traveller!" we echoed, springing into action. The Fallen Captains turned in surprise before barking out orders and sprinting to nearby cover. I ran in close to one of the Captains, Gem firing suppressive fire from his machine gun at a nearby Vandal, and began firing my Imago Loop into his chest. He staggered under the repeated hammering from the powerful revolver, before warping away to another position. He was quickly taken down by Anna with her sniper rifle. I noticed a blue engram on the floor nearby and scooped it up.

"Let me decode that for you, Ace." Said Ghost. There was a shimmering, and the engram turned into a fusion rifle. A Nox Fury V to be perfectly accurate.

"Nice," I said, firing the rifle a nearby Dreg. The dreg was not so much killed by the weapon, but thrown into the air, where he proceeded to disintegrate into a cloud of glowing orange embers.

"Fuck!" shouted Rena, slapping a clip into her pulse rifle. "More Fallen inbound on Pikes. Two hostiles. Three o'clock!"

The new enemies zoomed into the ruins, mounted on their hover bikes, known as 'Pikes' by the Vanguard. Unlike the 'sparrows' that had been created by humans (which I thought looked rather like the speeder bikes from the sixth Star Wars movie), Fallen Pikes were much more brutish and hunched in appearance, with thick armour plating covering their bodies. Like all Fallen tech, they had a almost organic appearance, looking vaguely like crustaceans huddled in their shells, and dotted with spikes worked into the outer shell of the armor plating. Also unlike our Sparrows, they were armed. With plasma weapons and grenade launchers.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, dodging a bolt of plasma. Ducking behind a rock outcrop, I pulled out my rocket launcher, and loaded a fragmentation missile into the weapon. I then fired the self-propelled munition at the closest Pike. The pilot expertly dodged the projectile- the rocket flying off into the starry sky- and fired back at me with renewed vigour.

"Look out! Those Dregs are trying to flank us!" shouted Anna.

"I've got it," said Grim, raising his hand and shooting a arc of lightning from his hands. The electricity danced among the Dregs, chaining between them and throwing them into convulsive spasms as they collapsed to the ground. They slowly flaked away, their bodies disintegrating into blue embers. He then threw a grenade towards another group of Vandals, who were moving up behind the Dregs. The grenade exploded, creating a small electrical storm in the midst of the Vandals. The grenade sent crackling lines of energy down the Fallen's bodies, killing most of their number. A few survived, but were quickly cut down by machine gun fire from Gem, who was now running up the hill, firing his massive gun from the hip. Rena fired off her shotgun into another one of the captains, sending him crashing to the ground dead, Ether hissing from his broken chestplate. She proceeded to huddle in cover behind a nearby rock as the closest Pike began firing at her with its plasma cannons.

"Rena, throw me that Wire Rifle there!" shouted Anna, laying down covering fire at the Pike attacking the other Hunter. The Pike stopped firing and moved away out of the line of fire, a few holes in the armour dribbling spurts of black smoke. Anna ducked back down as the other Pike began to attack her with it's plasma cannons to cover its partner. Gem fired a suppressive burst at the wounded Pike, forcing its pilot to manoeuvre it behind the crater lip.

"Got it!" replied the slender Hunter, rolling out of cover and sprinting to the nearby weapon. Scooping up the Fallen weapon, she chucked it through the air towards Anna. The rifle seemed to glide through the dusty air in the low gravity, before it was snatched up by it's recipient. Anna popped up from behind the rock, and turned the captured weapon on the attacking Pike. A arc of electricity lanced out towards the vehicle, and crackled along it's hull. The engine of the vehicle whined and popped as the high-voltage electricity fried its essential systems. Flames began to spurt from the machine's exhaust vents as the wiring shorted and set fire to the engine. Smoke billowed from the crippled machine as the pilot jumped free of the doomed machine. The pilot was swiftly cut down by Rena, her pulse rifle walking a burst up into the alien's head. Three seconds later, the hover bike crashed to the ground and exploded violently, sending a cloud of dust up into the air. The battlefield became obscured by a billowing cloud of moondust, forcing me to activate my helmet's thermal imaging system. Looking around, I spotted movement from the crater edge. Reloading my launcher and aiming, I then fired a rocket at the last Pike, the machine exploding into chunks of debris, taking its pilot with it. More dust billowed. The Fallen were nearly all gone, the remaining Dregs fleeing away. Gem, a blue outline on my HUD, fired a sustained burst into the fleeing minions, cutting them down as they fled. I searched for a new enemy, locating one of the Captains sprinting past in a panicked rush to cover. Firing off a few shots from my hand cannon, I forced him into cover behind a rock. He fired a few panicked shots at me, all missing. I sprinted towards his position, pulling my fusion rifle. I then leapt through the air to land in the dust in front of him. I raised my gun.

"Got you now!" I exclaimed, firing my fusion rifle into the terrified alien. The Fallen foe cartwheeled through the air, disintegrating into a shower of ash. A pair of purple-coloured engrams plonked to the ground and lay there. Picking them up, storing them for later decoding at the Tower, I turned to see the Gem swing his fist into the ground in front of the last Fallen Captain, sending out a bright flash of light that swept away the surrounding dust cloud. When the light faded and the dust settled, the Captain and every remaining Fallen within three meters had been reduced to ash.

"Alright, everything dead now?" I asked. "Cause there is a shard of a certain being that needs our assistance."

Anna nodded, and raised her head. "Ace, is it through that tower there?"

I looked over at the cracked observatory, a ragged hole broken through the wall. I nodded, proceeding to reload my hand cannon, dropping the spent cylinder into the dust. The housing emptied, I summoned a fresh cylinder loaded with bullets, and slotted it into the receptacle. With that, I snapped the new load into place and raised my gun. The fireteam and I proceeded to move towards the tower. Jumping up, Rena and Grimm checked the other side of the ruined structure for any Hive or Fallen.

"It's clear. There's some bodies down there, they look fresh," reported Rena. "Looks like a Fallen raiding party. Mostly Shanks, I guess the hive dragged the other bodies away. God knows what they do with them."

"Probably eat them," I said. "When I was in the temple entrance, I saw a few glimpses of what looked like badly gnawed ribcages in the corners of the room. Fallen, Human…and Hive. They just don't eat other species you know."

The other Guardians shuddered, with the exception of Grim who stared impassively at the monolith-littered crater below. We descended the slope into the crater, and stared up at the massive double doors in front. They were still wide open, casting wide shadows on the ground in front. Inside the mouth, darkness obscured the chamber within. The green runes carved into the doors pulsed weakly, their strange light darkening the shadows it touched rather than brightening them. I shuddered in fright at how this species had the ability to cause this perversion of the simple laws of physics by their eldritch magic. Around us, the grey rock walls of the crater loomed, their impassive nature concealing the hoards of Hive contained within. Rena shifted nervously.

"Think it's a trap?" asked Rena, her usually bright voice trembling slightly with nerves. "It seems…odd to leave the doors to your fortress wide open like that…"

"Ha! If it is a trap, then there's more killing for us!" exclaimed Gem, proudly standing tall. Anna sighed and shook her head.

"Even so Gem, we need to be cautious here," she said. "Just blindly jumping into combat without care could be fatal. There may be more trouble ahead than just ambushes. Stay together and don't wander off. Keep line of sight on each other at all times. And remember to…"

"Yes _Mum_!" groaned Rena. "Look, everyone knows the drill. Heh, we wouldn't have been able to take on that Fallen Servitor Septiks without knowing at least SOME common sense."

The last remark was directed at Gem, who was pointedly studying his feet. I made a mental note to ask about that sometime, or ask Cayde to help me look up the public mission records at the Tower. This sounded like a story worth exploring. Without another word, the fireteam moved forwards, with me taking the pointman position. The inside of the room was deserted, although we could feel ourselves being watched. This sense of wariness only added to the air of malice that permeated the room. I looked up at the ceiling of the large chamber in which we stood. It was domed, rather like a cathedral, although it was (alongside the rest of the columned and arched chamber) hewn from a material that looked suspiciously like bone. I looked around, noting that the chamber looked less like a pure cathedral, but rather like a cathedral that had been invaded by a hoard of termites, and turned into a hive. Quite apt a description, considering the residents who had built the place.

We walked down a roughly carved incline to the lower level. This area looked battle-damaged, and there were Fallen weapons strewn on the floor. Many were broken in two. Grim picked up a wire rifle with the stock cracked off, the said fragment lying on the ground nearby. The broken gun had wires and coils spewing out of the back, still sparking with residual charge. Grim's Ghost appeared from his hiding place, his shell customised with a dull green and grey casing.

"They fell in battle," said the machine, his voice as gritty and grainy as his master. "Despite the Fallen being our enemies, I can't help but feel respect for them."

Anna nodded. She briefly inspected something on the wall, and turned to Gem. "Gem, take a look at these burns. They look like they were made by Fallen weapons right, not Hive?"

Gem inspected some more scorch marks on the wall nearby and nodded. He placed a finger against one and pulled it away suddenly. "These are still quite warm. This battle did not take place long ago. However, there are no bodies. Be on the watch for foes, my friends. Something removed those bodies…"

I holstered my pistol and drew my fusion rifle. Clicking a new charge pack into the receptacle and dropping the spent one into the dust, I holstered the weapon again, and drew my hand cannon. With that, I spoke up, addressing the rest of the fireteam.

"Come on then, let's get this party started. We've got a civilisation to save."

 _Author's Note: Wow. Ok, so firstly: Thank you everyone who's been reading this. This story surpassed 5300 views the last two months, getting nearly 2000 views over the last 20 or so days. Second, I'd really like to thank all the people who've been suggesting advice for writing this story better. You're really helping me improve, and I'm currently working out ways to implement your advice. The next chapter is going to be longer, as I know that I've only really been putting about 2000 words or so in each chapter. I try to finish each chapter on a nice note, and thus they can be a bit short at times._

 _In other news, I'd like to do a bit of advertising for two other stories that have a simular theme to this one. I'd encourage viewers to have a look at the stories_ _ **The Ace Of Spades**_ _by Aurora313 and_ _ **The New Guardian**_ _by StarGazerNightSky, both Destiny stories with Ace as the main character. Aurora313's story is older than mine, and is a lot more detailed. I highly recommend it, as it portrays Ace & Cayde in a much darker light than I've done in my story, and is taking/has taken it's time with the reveal. I don't know yet, as I'm still working my way through the story. _

_As for StarGazer's story, it's a very good story with a much-more relationship-centric focus on the characters. Sure, there's some really good action in there, but I much preferred the scenes with the main characters to the action, as I think that StarGazer did a much better job with them than the other scenes._

 _Now that that's over, I have a third advertisement. There is a place where the bravest souls (or possibly the craziest) come together to perform a heroic task. A task which brings them to the deepest of all insane hellmouths, and confronts them with some of the shittiest writing ever to grace (or rather soil) the halls of the internet. Yes, I'm talking about the Fanfiction MST site Library of the Dammed. As this bloody site doesn't even allow me to add stupid URL's, I'll simply tell you to plug Literary Travesty into Google, and look for Library of the Damned, featuring talents such as Herr Wozzak (Mass Vexations), Erttheking (From the Ashes; How to avoid stupid deaths in the 41_ _st_ _millennium) and other writers of note. I've also posted a guest riff on there, which you can read alongside more than 3000 other riffs, including snarks of My Immortal (the eponymous 'worst fanfiction of all time', Trapped (a absolutely fucking awful story by the "writer" EclipsePheniox that trivialises rape of POW's, rape in general, sexual slavery, and other unsavoury acts), and other stories that to be honest are either the shittiest pieces of writing that have ever been penned, or the milder sort of "badfic", which are just written with poor grammar or a mostly-absent plot._

 _Well, that's all from me for now. I'll see you soon for chapter fifteen of Outbound Hopes soon people. This is Crazy Minh, signing off._


	15. Chapter 15: The Chamber of Night Part 1

We moved slowly down the rocky tunnel that lead further into the Hive temple. We came across numerous Acolytes and Thralls, the Acolytes being the small armoured Hive carrying energy weapons of some kind, and the Thralls being the disposable grey-skinned minions who seemed to be only armed with their very, very sharp claws and their numerous shark-like teeth. We crossed into a series of catacombs, with the walls hewn from moon rock (sometimes covered in beaten metal plating), with the floors made from a number of hexagonal stone tiles, and the rocky roof held up by menacing metal arches, which glinted in the dull light cast by small green lanterns set into the rock. We reached another set of tunnels, with a spiral ramp hewn from the rock. The ramp descended into a crossroads of sorts, the floor bare rock. Throughout the temple, bones and rubble were strewn everywhere in piles. Wherever I walked, there always seemed to be a crunch of some poor soul's ribcage snapping into pieces under my foot, or a skittering of a rock scraping across the ground. I spotted human bones, bits that looked like they'd come from a Fallen, and the carcasses of small rodent-like creatures that even Ghost couldn't identify. We moved through the tunnels for what seemed like hours, fighting small groups of enemies along the way. Eventually, we reached a large open space, with a massive spaceship rising out from the dark below. It was open at the top, with a gangway connecting to the lip of the walkway we stood on. The thing was shaped sort of like a spire, with the engines lost in the murky black mist in the pit. Steam hissed from hydraulics and a tangled web of cabled wove their way up from the ship into the tunnel that lead upwards.

Anna grimaced. "A Seeder ship. That's _real_ nice."

I cocked my head. "What's a Seeder ship?"

Rena spoke up. "The Hive use them to land troops on Earth and claim territory. They're just massive, massive troopships that are designed to embed themselves in the surface of a target world, usually launched from a Hive-owned location. They hit the ground with enough force to embed themselves upright, and then deploy their troops into the surrounding area. Earlier in the war, the Hive used to send these buggers crashing down all over the place. The Hive claimed Australia that way, and most of the western US. They've also established a large presence in the European Dead Zone, and have been engaged in a bitter war with the House of Devils ever since then. they've kept sending them, but as far as we know, only those three have successfully disgorged their troops."

Ghost popped out. "What happened to the others?" he asked.

Rena grimaced. "We honestly don't know. One of them attempted to land on top of the Last City, but was stopped by our defences. That was how we initially learned of the buggers. The others landed, sure. But we lost track of them after that. The Guardians sent to their landing sites in Old New York, New Berlin and the Tennessee Wastelands found nothing but dead hive and a wrecked vessel. It hadn't crashed. Something or someone had destroyed them."

"The Fallen were probably responsible," added Anna. "From the limited records available at the Grand Library in the Last City, the teams found evidence that the Fallen had destroyed those ships. However, they couldn't figure out how they managed to destroy them. Not could they find more than a handful of Fallen corpses. It does make for a good ghost…"

Anna's Ghost appeared. "Yes?"

"No, not you," Anna said, shooing her machine back into the dimensional pocket that it had appeared from. "…story. Yeah, I think you get the picture. Come on people, let's get moving. We've got to make up lost time."

Before we could leave, my Ghost spoke up. "Anna, can we make a brief stop here?"

She turned around, and looked at Ghost with her head cocked. "Why?" she said in a bemused voice. "There's nothing here."

Ghost flitted over to a nearby console, the surface covered in strangely shaped buttons marked with glowing green hive runes. "If I can get some data from the Hive's mainframe- assuming they have one, and that it's linked to this console- I can download mapping data that can get us the fastest and least defended route to the place where the ritual is being conducted. My short-range scans show that there's a large number of Hive between us and the Traveller's energy signature, and from what Ace and I gathered from our limited scans of the tunnels the last time we were here, this place gets more and more labyrinthine as we get deeper into the Moon's crust."

Anna nodded. "Do so. We'll keep watch while you scan. Gem, take North watch. Rena, take East guard. Ace, you guard your Ghost. I'll take a sniping position on top of that Seeder ship. Grim, keep a eye on our rear. Let's move people!"

We moved into position and took cover, guarding our respective fields of fire. I huddled next to the console Ghost hovered above, and looked up at him.

"Everyone ready?" asked Ghost. "Beginning scan now. The Hive will cotton onto the network intrusion pretty fast, so be prepared to take on a lot of incoming targets."

He began probing the console with beams of light, the console's lights blinking rapidly. Suddenly, a screeching sound came over the temple's PA system, or whatever passed for it for the Hive. At the same time, the console began speaking in the Hive's language.

"Everyone stay on guard!" shouted Anna from the top of the Seeder Ship. "I can hear the Hive coming. Ghost, what's the deal with that console?"

Ghost clicked his polygons a bit before responding. "It must have a audible output rather than a visual one. My translation unit is taking what the console is saying, and outputting the data I'm requesting. The Hive mustn't use a visual-based interface like the Fallen or Cabal."

"Can you get it to shut up?" exclaimed Rena. "It's really beginning to grate on…shit, Thralls at 5'oclock!"

She began firing her pulse rifle, the gun sending precise bursts of ionised plasma into the Hive grunts. A stream of other Hive began pouring from a doorway on a platform further down, merging with the other. The room surrounding the Seeder Ship was built rather like a missile silo. As such, the platform we were standing on was level with the entry to the Seeder Ship, and had a series of sloped ramps leading down from our position to other platforms below. There were two ramps that lead to where we were. One was being guarded by Gem, whose machine gun was spitting a hail of bullets into the hoard advancing up the ramp. The other was being policed by Rena, who was currently being assisted by Anna, her sniper rifle firing into the crowd to take out the occasional knight or acolyte among the ranks of grey Thralls. I fired my hand cannon into those who got close to Gem, while Grim took out a few Hive Acolytes who had taken the initiative to sneak round to our rear and try and assault us from behind. Eventually, the torrent began to trickle off, and a few minutes later the final Hive thrall fell to a bullet from Anna's sniper rifle.

"Ghost, you got the information?" I asked. "We need to get moving. We've lost a lot of time here."

He clicked a bit, before nodding. "I've got the data. Anna, we can leave now. I'm forwarding the navigational information to your Ghosts."

We walked further into the caverns. The bones that littered the tiled floor cracked under our boots, and the dim illumination cast shadows into the corners of the room. After fighting our way through what seemed like miles of corridors, we came to a rocky passageway, spiralling down into the black. In the darkness below, a ominous chanting could be heard. Ghost spoke to me briefly with our telepathic link, and I relayed the information to the rest of the team.

"Ghost says that the ritual is down there. A place called 'The Chamber of Night'. We'll have to get through a locked door, but he knows how to unlock it thanks to the console."

Gem laughed. "Ha! Saves use valuable time!"

I chuckled. "Yes, it does. Ghost also says to be careful, but then again…he always says that."

The others chuckled as well, as we checked our gear. I reloaded my hand cannon, before taking point as we began to move. Then. We descended into the darkness whirling below.

 _Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone, and this has been quite a short chapter. I didn't quite know how to write this one, so it has been more than a month of work trying to get it to click. It's not QUITE what I wanted, but I've been stumped on how to write this particular chapter of Outbound Hopes, and I feel that whatever I write in this chapter, it's still not going to click well. Even the planning is a bit shaky here, mainly because at that stage, the story is still closely following the Destiny one. It doesn't help that I stuffed a few things in earlier chapters, and it's thrown off events further down the line. Anyway, I'll be on hiatus next year, but I'll be back by Christmas next year. See you folks, and have a very merry Christmas!_


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